Emptiness
by The Dark Eccentric
Summary: What if Ichigo's Hollow powers hadn't disappeared with his Shinigami powers? What if he had to fight for control of his own body? "Aizen watched in joy as his sword swung. But at the last second a hand shot up and caught it. A pure white hand with claws."
1. A Hollow Victory

_A/N: Well this will be the first chapter of my second fan fiction. I'm still fairly new but I'll try my best. This story is kind of an alternate plot thing, going on the idea of what if Ichigo's final fight with Aizen had ended differently. It was inspired by some other fanfics I've read and a Bleach AMV on youtube called Emptiness. I won't say anything more as I don't want to spoil it. So I hope you like it, and here it is!_

**Emptiness**

Chapter 1: A Hollow Victory

Ichigo looked around at the craters, shattered stone, and the most recent cloud of smoke from Mugetsu covering the area where Aizen had been, and he stood astonished at the level of destruction his battle with Aizen had caused. Seeing this, he was glad that he had decided to take the battle to these rocky fields on the outskirts of town. If they had stayed in Karakura there would probably be nothing left of it by now. A shock of cold went through his body and he collapsed to the ground as his shinigami powers began to fade. As he knelt on his hands and knees panting he thought to himself, _My powers are gone. But it's done. It's over. He's dead._ He looked into the smoke and rubble caused by his attack thinking, _There's no way he could have survived that. _But then, to his surprise he saw a figure limp out of the smoke. Most of the form he had been in when Ichigo used Mugetsu had been blown away, but there Aizen stood. Upon seeing this Ichigo immediately though despairingly, _No! Dammit! He's still alive!_ and he tried to rise but he could barely move.

Aizen looked just as he did at the beginning of the fight; his wings and mask gone, and his body back to a human shape. The only differences being that his skin had gone paper white and his coat was burned and frayed around the edges with patches missing on the arms and the lower part of the pants, from the mid shins down, blown away. His right eye had also gone pure white and part of the teeth from his previous form still remained on the right side of his mouth. Aizen's form had still survived Ichigo's final hope of defeating him and he stood before him, worse for wear but still alive, the Hogyoku still set into the center of his chest as he twitched his white blade towards Ichigo's face.

"You've lost Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm getting stronger as we speak. The Hogyoku will never allow me to be beaten by the likes of you!" Ichigo knew that it was just Aizen's arrogance and his God-complex that made him say that. He could tell from the remnants of Aizen's last form and his obvious tiredness and weakened reiatsu that he wasn't getting stronger, but weaker, and that he was actually at the weakest he had been since he fused with the Hogyoku. Whether Aizen knew that too, or whether he was so deluded that he _really_ thought he _was_ getting stronger Ichigo didn't know. But he _did_ know that it didn't matter, and that as weak as he was he could still kill Ichigo as he was now. Then he would get stronger again and go after everyone else. Aizen raised the blade, preparing to bring it down and kill his nemesis once and for all. "Now there is just the matter of killing you, and with you goes the last obstacle stopping me from ruling everything! You're finished, Kurosaki Ichigo!" As he brought the blade down, Ichigo knew with his powers gone there was nothing he could do but wait for the end. He closed his eyes, filled with dread as he anticipated the moment when Aizen's blade would bite into his flesh, ending his life once and for all, and all his efforts would have been for nothing.

x

But…it didn't come.

He opened his eyes to find himself on his hands and knees on the side of a skyscraper. A light rain fell around him as Ichigo looked around at the once clear blue sky, now filled with dark storm clouds and he slowly realized where he was. _My inner world…But I thought with my powers gone I wouldn't be coming here anymore?_ Just then, to his great surprise he heard footsteps behind him. As he turned to see who it was he stood up and called hesitantly to his surroundings, "Zangetsu?" But the person behind him was not who he was expecting.

Standing there was Ichigo's inner hollow in his newest form. He was wearing an outfit similar to a white version of Ichigo's Bankai but instead of the frayed edges it had neat black trim around the hem and black fur at the collar and cuffs of the jacket. As usual he looked identical to Ichigo other than his perfectly white skin and hair and black eyes. But now he had clawed feet and hands and a long mane of white hair going down his back, along with a black mask with two vertical white stripes and horns covering his face. The low neckline also showed the top of the black markings on his chest. He tilted the mask back, revealing his face looking eerily like Ichigo's but for the sadistic grin and he spoke in his echoing voice, "Yo, Ichigo."

Surprised by the appearance of his hollow Ichigo panicked and took a few steps back. "What are you doing here? Where's Zangetsu? I thought I lost my powers!"

"Didn't you listen to what that kid Zangetsu said?" Hichigo drawled. _[A/N: Starting now I'm calling his hollow Hichigo for convenience by the way]_ "If you use the Final Getsuga Tensho you will lose your _shinigami powers_. He never mentioned what would happen to _me_ did he? He said the thing he wanted to protect was you and that's why he didn't want to teach you the technique. But it wasn't just so you could fight. He also wanted to protect you from me!"

Cautiously, Ichigo said back, "But why are you here now?"

Hichigo spread his arms wide, gesturing at Ichigo's inner world. "The power balance has shifted Kingy! I can't just let you get killed by this guy. So now…" He paused and stretched his clawed hands. "…we fight for supremacy! And this time, Zangetsu isn't going to stop me. C'mon King, use the last dregs of your shinigami powers before they disappear! Come at me with everything you got, and I'll destroy it!" With that he charged at Ichigo.

Ichigo instinctively brought up his sword to block the clawed hand striking towards his chest. It was only then he saw what Hichigo said was true. His power was fading but he did still have some left. He was still wearing his Bankai jacket. Although, all that was left of it was a strip hanging his right shoulder, and his hakama going down to just past his knees. Not just that, but he was holding his zanpakutou still. He barely managed to block the blow, but when he saw the mask spreading in a sinister smile he realised the hollow hadn't put much force into it. Hichigo's inch-long claws screeched against the flat of the blade as he pushed forward and forced Ichigo back into the wall of the skyscraper across from where they had been. _He's so strong!_ Ichigo charged forward and swung at Hichigo, but he just dodged it and kicked Ichigo into the wall. _With my powers almost gone I can barely survive his attacks, let alone fight back! He's just toying with me now!_

"C'mon Ichigo! Is that all you got! And you thought you could beat a God?" Hichigo shouted; grinning as he caught Ichigo's sword swing and swung him into another building. As the other tried to pull himself from the wreckage, he leaned forward, taking aim as a crimson light began building between the horns that adorned the mask. Seeing the charging cero, Ichigo's eyes widened as he redoubled his attempts, kicking and pushing fragments of stone aside. He managed to clear away enough stone and through himself out of the way just in time to dodge the incoming ray of destructive energy that screamed past him. He glanced back and saw that the sheer force of it had razed and utterly obliterated not only where he had been seconds before but also several of the buildings behind him. Hichigo turned to him and laughed.

Ichigo looked at him in fear. _He's a monster! Is this really what I became when I beat Ulquiorra?_ He gripped his sword tighter, regaining some confidence. _I can't let him win! I can't let him control me! I can't let him out!_ Ichigo roared with sword raised and charged forward again. Hichigo easily batted the sword to the side, but Ichigo turned and slashed upwards causing Hichigo to jump backwards to dodge it.

"That's more like it Kingy! Fight!" he roared and leapt towards Ichigo, a bala forming in the palm of his fist as it flew toward his unprotected chest. Ichigo tried to twist out of the way but Hichigo opened his hand and fired the bala from his palm into Ichigo's left shoulder, launching him into another building.

When he stood up again he gasped as a sharp pain went through his shoulder and he realized it was broken and he couldn't move his left arm._ I can't beat him like this. He's too strong._ He looked over at Hichigo who stood still in midair as the rain fell, dripping off the mask as he held it to side showing the psycotic grin stretching across his face. _He's a berserker, and he's even more reckless a fighter than me. Maybe I can use that to my advantage._ "Stop toying with me. If you're going to kill me, do it already!"

Hichigo ginned back and said, "If you insist King! I'll try and make it slow!" Then he dove at Ichigo almost faster than Ichigo's eyes could follow, his clawed hand extended before him. Ichigo tried to move and the clawed hand buried itself in wrist deep into his gut. "Looks like I win King. You were able to move so it's not fatal, but you're still not going to be able to keep fighting like this. And I thought you could have dodged that too. You must be even weaker than I thought. How disappointing." He pouted for a second before laughing loudly, as he began twisting his hand deeper.

x

Aizen watched in joy as his sword swung down, relishing his final triumph over the one person who almost killed him. The one person who _could_ have killed him. A wide smile spread across his face as he swung. _I'm going to enjoy this!_ But at the last second, and to his great surprise, a hand shot up and caught his sword. _But his powers are gone! He's finished! This is impossible!_ Then he noticed the fingers on the hand gripping the sword were turning white and growing claws. He looked down at his nemesis and saw his head still hanging, his hair covering his face. Bu Aizen could see black reiatsu gathering on Ichigo's face, and as he looked up at Aizen, he saw the reiatsu form into a white hollow mask with two black vertical stripes and horns. Aizen jumped back a few meters, tearing his sword out of the creature's grip. He looked at the dark red reiatsu surrounding Ichigo and watched as his orange hair grew out into a mane and his skin turned white with three black lines radiating up from the center of his chest and said, "Ah. I see. In your weakened state you're no longer able to hold that creature at bay. You have lost yourself." He gave a smug smile; satisfied that he had solved this mystery.

The creature stood before disappearing with a resounding boom and reappeared behind Aizen. Before he could raise a sword to defend himself the creature thrust its clawed hand into his back and out through his chest, grasping the Hogyoku between its bloodied claws and ripping it out through his back. Aizen coughed up a large glob of blood and clutched at the hole in his chest, turning with a horrified look to see his opponent. He started raising his hand to call the Hogyoku back when to his surprise the creature squeezed it in its hand…and the Hogyoku _shattered._ Aizen's eyes went wide and he stared in disbelief. His life's work…the thing which gave him the power of a god…the thing that made him unbeatable… and this creature just _broke_ it in its hand. _What power!... What… INSOLENCE!_ Aizen roared in anger as the hole in his chest began regenerating.

But before Aizen could do anything there was another soft boom as the creature used sonido and tackled Aizen into a cliff face. With one hand the creature pinned Aizen to the cliff face as its other hand came up to point a clawed finger at Aizen's face, a massive red cero charging at the tip. The last thing Aizen heard before the cero obliterated him and the cliff face behind him was an echoing voice saying, "Who said I lost."

x

Ichigo coughed up blood and looked up at his hollow, who was standing before him laughing with his hand buried in Ichigo's stomach. But the laughter died off almost immediately when he saw Ichigo grin, blood still dripping from his mouth. "I'm sorry, but I can't lose to you. I won't let you hurt anyone else." Before Hichigo could react Ichigo drove his sword up under his ribs and out his spine at the base of his neck. Hichigo just had time to croak out, "Ah dammit," before Ichigo summoned up what was left of his shinigami powers and shouted at the top of his voice for what he knew would be the last time, "GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

The black and red reiatsu that burst from Ichigo's sword tore away the bottom part of his inner hollows body leaving only his upper torso, head, and right arm floating in the air. As what was left of him began turning into white spirit particles and drifting away Hichigo spoke calmly. "Well played King. You'll be needing that brutality if you want to use my power." His head beginning to dissolve, Hichigo spoke louder; not in fear or to hold off the dissolution, but to emphasize his enthusiasm. "It's just me and you now King! And without Zangetsu here to hold me back you'll be seeing a lot more of me! I won't give up this easily! See you soon Kingy!" His last words were spoken as the last few particles drifted away in the wind leaving Ichigo standing alone on the side of the skyscraper.

Ichigo looked up at the sky, no longer feeling his wounds. After all it's his inner world and the fight was over. He thought about the look he thought he'd seen cross his hollows face for a moment as he spoke. It had looked almost like…pride? As if his hollow hadn't really wanted to win, but was just pushing Ichigo to fight back? To pull out his brutality in order to win? Ichigo looked down and shook his head. He must have been imagining it. Either way he put it out of his mind for them moment. He had another fight to finish.

x

Looking at the demolished cliff face where Aizen had been moments earlier Ichigo thought with relief, _Now it's done. Now it's finally over._

Then he heard a echoing and normally mocking voice filled with surprising admiration coming from the back of his mind, _Nice job King! I didn't think you could be that brutal. Well you were in that last fight with me, but I thought that was just me!_ Hichigo laughed psychotically.

_It was the only way to beat him. He wouldn't have stopped until he was dead, and the only way to kill him was to destroy him completely._ Ichigo thought back sadly. Then, suddenly realizing it, he added in puzzlement, _I didn't know you could talk to me in my head._

In a jokingly seductive voice Hichigo said, _Now that its just me and you in here were much closer._ Then he laughed and continued in a more normal tone. _But really, with Zangetsu not here to provide balance I have much more influence. Although I am only able to talk to you when your using my power to this extent__, or by putting in some serious effort__. In fact my influence could be where this new found brutality of yours comes from!_

_You have that much influence on me!_

_Well the more you draw on my powers, the stronger I am. Although, even when you aren't using my powers at all, like I said Zangetsu's not here to give balance, so you'll be a little bit more…oh what's the word…bestial._ Ichigo could hear the grin as Hichigo said that word, and he shivered at the thought of his hollow affecting his mind.

Just then a voice pulled him from his thoughts, "Ichigo?" He recognized Rukia's voice instantly and turned to see her standing some distance away with Renji, Ishida, Sado, Orihime and Urahara. All of them but Orihime and Urahara seemed to be sporting some injury. Rukia and Renji wore so much bandages over their torsos it formed shirts. Rukia also had her right arm in a sling. Renji wore his torn kosode as a cloak while Rukia had hers draped over her right shoulder. Sado had bandages around his forehead and covering his left arm and a crutch under his right arm. Ishida only had bandages on his left forearm and some visible on his stomach through a tear in his shirt. It was only after he had finished taking in their injuries that Ichigo saw their expressions. Orihime seemed outright afraid and was already taking a few steps back. Ishida and Urahara just seemed sad. Sado was mostly impassive, but he did seem a little surprised. Renji was looking at Rukia, seeming surprised by what she had just said. Rukia just seemed wary, curious, and a little worried.

Ichigo heard Urahara mutter, "I was too late…" and Orihime say falteringly, "K..Kuro..saki..-kun?"

_What's wrong? Why are they acting like that? It's like they think I'm dead._ Ichigo thought wonderingly.

_Hey idiot! You're still using my powers._Hichigo replied scornfully.

_They're afraid of you._

* * *

><p><em>AN: oooh…Dun Dun Dun. Sorry about that._

_Anyways so what do you think? Like I said it's my second Fanfic, and since I haven't really got any feedback on my first other than one review, a favourite and my friend's opinion I'm not sure whether I'm doing good or not so any feedback would be much appreciated. Even if it's along the lines of, "You suck at writing and you should delete this story before going outside and hanging yourself." If you hadn't yet got the message from my pen name or the story you probably got it from that line. I'm a fairly dark person._

_I might change the story summary and/or genres later, but it'll do for now. M rating for heavy violence, swearing, and the occasional adult theme that might pop up. No lemons but shit happens, and I don't know what my tick people off so better safe than sorry. You've been warned._

_I also have to thank my new Beta MisplacedSanity for her help in editing this chapter, and for all her tips and ideas for improvement. It was a great help…and lots of fun. I recommend you all check out some of her stories. Not just to pay her back for her help but because they're quite good, and if you enjoyed this you might enjoy her's too._

_So yeah, tell me what you think about the story. Where you think it might be going, any suggestions, mistakes I missed, etc. __And __feel __free __to __check __out __my __other __story __too. __I __could __use __some __more __feedback. __Hope to hear from ya! Until next time then._

_P.S: Almost forgot. I don't own bleach or any of it's characters or etc. If I did things would go a little differently. However this story and everything in it does belong to me. It's all mine, muahahahahah…ha…haha…*cough*…Right then…Bye_


	2. The Pariah

_A/N: Wow…Not only did this story get a response, but it got a good response too. It got almost four times as many reviews and almost as many hits as my other story in two days, despite my other story having four chapters and having been out for a year. But then, this story has a more popular focus so I guess it's to be expected. _

_Sorry if I kept you waiting, as this is the first time anyone's been seriously waiting on my writing. Well on to the chapter I guess._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2: The Pariah<span>

**12th Division Monitoring Facility in Seireitei**

The young shinigami sat in front of his screens; his robes hanging loosely over his scrawny form and his bedraggled hair clinging to his head from sweat as he watched them with rapt attention. All around him in the dark room other shinigami were doing the same at the other monitoring stations arranged row upon row, like bookcases in a library. But for most of them there was nothing much to watch. For him it was quite the opposite. "Sir! You should come look at this" the shinigami called to his commander. As the older shinigami turned from his duty of watching the watchers and walked over the other continued, "Those two reiatsu signatures we picked up in Sector 3074 outside Karakura town…There was a flash of reiatsu from one of them. It overloaded the sensors and we couldn't get anything for a moment. When it cleared one signature was gone and the other is greatly weakened; although the intensity is still 213." He shook his head in astonishment. The being had been _weakened_ to roughly captain level. He had been watching the two reiatsu signatures for a while. They had both appeared some time before and immediately drew the interest of the monitoring station as they were both far greater than a captain's reiatsu, and they completely obscured all the other reiatsu in the area. His commander had set him to watch them while the others returned to their tasks, and he had watched as the two reiatsu rose and fell indicating the battle they were likely having. But this flash clearly signalled the end of the battle. Or so he thought.

As they watched a new reiatsu appeared to replace the one that had vanished. "What is that?" the commander demanded.

"I…I think it's a hollow sir." the lower ranking shinigami stammered.

"A hollow! In Soul Society? Are you sure!"

"Yes, but the signature is similar to the other reiatsu that vanished, although that had clearly been a shinigami's. And this reiatsu…It's weaker than the other two had been, but it's still higher than most captain's…I…I didn't know a hollow could be so powerful." Just then the reiatsu flashed slightly and the reiatsu of the other, weakened, being flickered before another flash wiped it out completely.

"What happened?" The commander demanded again.

"Th…the hollow seems to have wiped out the other…whatever that thing was. It looks like some weaker reiatsu signatures are approaching the scene. We hadn't been able to pick them up before because those two massive signatures had whited everything else out." He turned to his commander, "What should we do?"

The other contemplated for a moment before saying, "I'm going to contact the 2nd division, and have them send a team to investigate. You keep monitoring the situation and contact me if anything changes."

"Yes sir!" The man turned back to his screen. He didn't know what was going on, but it was big. He was just glad he hadn't been sent as part of that team. Who knows what they're going to find.

x

**Outside Karakura Town in Soul Society**

Standing in front of the demolished cliff face with the dust still drifting down around him Ichigo looked at his friends standing some distance away in a clearing between the battlefield and the tree line as his hollow's words sunk in. In realization he looked at his friends faces again, and he saw the sadness, shock, and…fear in most of their faces. Renji's hand was apprehensively making its way towards the hilt of his zanpakutou. Ichigo quickly focused inside himself and released his hollow form.

A burst of light blue reiatsu engulfed Ichigo's body causing everyone to shield their eyes. When the reiatsu and smoke had cleared Ichigo stood before them, his hollow form gone. But he wasn't back in his shinigami robes, and even his base appearance had changed. His shinigami robes were completely gone now, not even the tattered robes his hollow form had been wearing remained. In their place was a ragged tan coloured jacket, similar to his Bankai jacket but with a torn and tattered hem, over a pair of brown pants with a chain going around the waist over top of the jacket acting as a belt. The cuffs and collar of the jacket were lined with thick brown fur that had small hollow masks entwined throughout. There were also larger hollow masks on the shoulders, elbows and knees of the outfit like armor. Unlike his Bankai jacket this jacket was open at the front, showing the black markings still on the skin of his chest which had lost its albino white color and returned to its usual tanned pigmentation. The claws on his hands and feet were gone, but he was still barefoot. But the clearest change was in his hair and eyes. His hair remained long, as it had been in his hollow form. And his eyes…his eyes were no longer their warm amber color but had turned gold, surrounded by a black sclera…The eyes of a hollow.

Ichigo tried to smile and ended up with a sheepish grin. As he raised a hand to the back of his head he said awkwardly, "Hey guys…"

His friends' reactions to this sudden change varied. Renji immediately shouted, "It is Ichigo!" But he still seemed confused, and while his hand did move away from his zanpakutou's hilt, it didn't move far.

Rukia hit Renji in the side of the head. "That's what I said idiot." But despite her violent behaviour, Ichigo could see that while she was slightly confused by his change in appearance, she was mostly just relieved he was okay.

Like Rukia, Sado seemed relieved now that he could see Ichigo's face and confirm that it was still him. He didn't show any signs of confusion, fear, or even surprise at the changes. Ichigo was back, and that was all that Sado cared about. To him, everything was fine now.

Ishida and Orihime responded a little differently. Ishida seemed relieved, but he was still wary and tense seeing Ichigo's new look. He had felt first hand what Ichigo's hollow could do. Orihime wasn't as frightened as she had been before Ichigo dropped his hollow form, but she could see his eyes and recognized the markings on his chest. She stopped moving away, and tried to look happy, but Ichigo could see the fear that was still in her eyes and he noticed that she wouldn't move any closer.

But it was Urahara's reaction that intrigued Ichigo the most. At first he had seemed relieved when he saw Ichigo drop the hollow form, but he quickly became serious and anxious again. Seeing Urahara scanning the surrounding area anxiously as though expecting something, Ichigo looked himself as he asked, "What's wrong Urahara-san?"

His attention back on Ichigo, Urahara responded in his seldom heard serious tone. "I found your father on the way here and he told me what you were going to do, and I tried to get here soon enough to stop you but I was too late." His tone turned sad as he finished.

"But I'm okay. I beat Aizen. What's the problem?"

Urahara stared off into the trees as he replied, "The Final Getsuga Tenshou. Your father didn't understand what he was doing when he taught you. As you may have guessed your father's zanpakutou is similar to yours in its abilities, and as such he had the Final Getsuga Tenshou as well. But unlike you he was only ever a shinigami; a powerful one yes, but still just a shinigami." He paused and turned to look Ichigo in his new hollow eyes before continuing. "But circumstances were different for you. You had hollow powers as well as shinigami powers. Clearly you've already realized the result of this. When you used that ability, rather than reverting to a regular human soul with no abilities as your father did when he used it, you were still left with your hollow powers. I realized this even if your father didn't and I tried to get here in time to stop you from using it but I was too late. I knew your hollow would likely take over your body when the power balance shifted. I hadn't expected you to be able to fight him off in your weakened state." Urahara paused again and nodded in respect. "Congratulations on that by the way. Not many would have been able to do that." He glanced around the battlefield and finished, "Not many would be able accomplish any of the things you've done today."

Exasperated Ichigo nearly shouted, "But I beat my hollow! So what's wrong? Get to the point! Why are you so worried? Why do look like your expecting something bad to happen?"

As if on cue there was a dark blur and a shinigami dressed as a ninja appeared crouched in front of Ichigo, swinging a ninjato up to decapitate him. But Ichigo quickly leaned back on reflex and shot out his hand and grabbed the blade of the sword. As the shinigami's eyes widened in surprise Ichigo kicked him in the chest, sending him rocketing into some of the trees at the edge of the clearing, leaving Ichigo still holding the shinigami's sword. While Ichigo flipped the ninjato around so he was holding it by the hilt there were some more dark blurs and nineteen more of the ninja appeared in the trees and on the rocks surrounding them. Sado immediately dropped his crutch and walked unsteadily over to stand next to Ichigo, activating his Brazo Derecha de Gigante1 as he did.

"That's why." Urahara answered dryly.

One of the ninja shinigami took a couple steps forward, pointed at Ichigo, and said "We are here to kill or, if possible, capture the hollow. If the rest of you aren't going to help then stay out of our way."

As Ichigo stared at the ninja in amazement Urahara reached to tilt his hat, before remembering he'd lost it, and smirked, saying "As I expected. The 2nd Division's Stealth Force was sent to investigate when they detected your hollow reiatsu. They had probably been monitoring the area closely since you started fighting Aizen."

Now angered, Ichigo shouted at the Stealth Force squad leader, "But I'm not a hollow!" Then he pointed at the dark circle where the markings on his chest converged and continued, "Look I don't even have a hollow hole!" Everyone, including his friends leaned in to look when he said that, and saw that it was in fact true. The dark circle was simply part of the markings.

Urahara looked for a moment and muttered, "Interesting…" before mentally shaking himself and returning to the task at hand. He turned to the squad leader and said, "I am Urahara Kisuke, and this boy is the Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo. He has just defeated the traitor Aizen Sosuke, as you could confirm with the people who were monitoring this area, and at great cost to himself."

The look of shock that crossed the squad leaders face, as well as the faces of everyone in his squad, showed that they had clearly heard of Ichigo and that what Urahara said fit with the report they had got. But the squad leader quickly recovered and said, "That doesn't make a difference! A hollow reiatsu was detected and we were sent to investigate." The shinigami paused and pointed at Ichigo. "Kurosaki Ichigo or not the reiatsu is coming from him, and therefore we must bring him back with us or kill him. That is our orders! After that the captains will decide what is to be done with him. And I won't be told what to do by a criminal like yourself Urahara Kisuke!"

"That's ridiculous!" Everyone turned to Rukia as she walked over to stand next to Ichigo, on the opposite side from Sado. "Ichigo just risked his life fighting and defeating Aizen to save everyone! You should be thanking him, not this!" Ichigo looked at her in amazement; surprised that she would stand up for him like this.

The man replied angrily, "I will not be talked down to by an unseated officer! As I have said, we have our orders. Now you will come with us Kurosaki Ichigo, or you should prepare to fight." Then he put his hand on the hilt of his ninjato and looked at Ichigo, waiting for him to decide.

Rukia looked over her shoulder and called for support, "Renji!"

Renji just shrugged in reply and said, "He should just go with them I guess. I don't see why not."

Ichigo stepped forward, about to agree to go with them, when Urahara put out his hand stopping him. "It makes sense for the 2nd Division to be sent to investigate something like this, but it is unfortunate. Shinigami from almost any other division, save the 1st, would likely have been more lenient. But, as well as their Stealth Forces, the 2nd Division is also known for their discipline and strict carrying out of orders. Also because of Soifon they particularly don't like me."

Puzzled, Ichigo said, "So I should just go with them then."

"When Aizen made Shinji and the others into the Visored a hundred years ago, the Captain Commander and the Central 46 decreed that they would immediately be disposed of and I would be imprisoned. And if it weren't for Yoruichi that would have happened. The only reason they named you a substitute shinigami instead of killing you for being a Visored, as well as a rogue shinigami, was because the role you played in exposing Aizen, and the potential you had for brining him down. But now, not only are you no longer useful but you have also lost your shinigami powers becoming in their eyes, no longer an abomination but a full hollow." Seeing Ichigo about to protest Urahara added, "Whether you are or not. You use hollow powers, and are in a sense part hollow. That is enough for them. If the Captain Commander doesn't order your immediate execution, then you will be given to Captain Kurotsuchi which would be even worse."

They all looked at Urahara in shock. After a few moments Ichigo sighed and said, "I guess I don't have a choice then." He turned to the shinigami squad who had been waiting for him to decide and raised his stolen ninjato, getting into a battle stance for the fight he knew was coming.

Seeing that he had decided the squad leader nodded gravely at Ichigo, acknowledging his decision, before turning to one of his squad members and saying, "Tanaka, report back to Seireitei explaining what has happened."

"Yes Fukuzawa-sama." The squad member replied before shunpoing away.

Seeing Rukia and Sado taking battle stances on either side of him Ichigo turned to his friends and said, "No. You're injured. I can handle myself. And I can't ask you to betray Soul Society for me Rukia."

Sado just nodded and took a few steps back, while Rukia said, "Are you sure about this Ichigo?"

"I'm not about to walk to my death after all that's happened." While Rukia reluctantly stepped back as well, Ichigo saw Urahara still standing calmly to the side, not having taken a battle stance or looking nervous at all, and he said questioningly, "Urahara-san?"

Urahara just smiled at him and said, "Oh I think you can handle yourself, like you said. After all you need to test your new powers!"

So Ichigo turned back to the squad of shinigami and took his stance, and seeing him ready for battle the squad leader Fukuzawa said, "Are you sure about this?" Ichigo just nodded in response. Fukuzawa sighed and signalled to the rest of his squad. Then all at once they attacked.

Ichigo immediately jumped some distance to the side; dodging a good portion of his attackers and distancing himself from his friends so they wouldn't get dragged into the fight. He parried and blocked a few who hadn't been fooled by his dodge. Then, during a brief respite, he lifted his left hand up to his face and, drawing on his reiatsu, he scratched downwards with his fingers curled like claws, and…nothing happened. No mask. But he couldn't give in to his confusion as the shinigami renewed their assault.

As Ichigo fought off the shinigami, slashing one across the chest and throwing another into a tree, he heard a voice chuckle in the back of his head. _Still trying to use your old powers Ichigo?_

Ichigo was having trouble responding and focusing on his battle, but after parrying and blocking a few more he managed to reply, _But I thought I still had my hollow powers!_

_You do, but not like that ye' idiot. That's how the Visored use their power. Have you ever seen a hollow or even an arrancar form a mask to strengthen their power? Of course not!_

Ichigo jumped up into a tree to get away from the shinigami for a moment to think and reply to his hollow. _But they have a mask already I don't! _he huffed.

_Yeah, but your powers work a little differently now. In this form your powers are–_ But then a few of the shinigami attacked again and Ichigo had to focus on fighting them off so his hollow just said, _Ah screw it! If I keep talking now you'll just get distracted and die. If you live through this I'll explain it later._

_Wait wha–_ Then a sword nearly skewered him through the eye so he brought his mind back to the fight. He hated to say it but his hollow was right. He'd worry about that stuff later; otherwise he'd get himself killed. He parried the shinigami who had nearly stabbed him in the eye before slamming his palm into his chest knocking him back. Four others rushed him. He dodged the first two, blocked the third with the ninjato in his right hand, and grabbed the blade of the last one before head-butting him into the ground. Then he turned back to the third attacker whom he had locked blades with and he twisted his blade so the other's was knocked to the side and he drove his own blade into the man's stomach up to the hilt, so the blood stained tip stuck out his back. As the man fell Ichigo marvelled at how ruthless he had been. He was losing himself in the fight. He heard a dark chuckle in the back of his mind, but he couldn't dwell on it as the two who he had dodged swung at him again. Ichigo ducked under their blades, and came back up inside their guard upper-cutting each of them under the jaw with a palm strike, knocking them into the air. They were out before they hit the ground. _Twelve left_.

Ichigo paused and scanned the battlefield for the rest of his opponents. He immediately saw that four were coming from either side of him in an attempt to flank him. _But where are the other four?_ Then he looked up and saw them weaving a kido spell above him. He dodged towards one of the groups flanking him just as the stone pillars fell where he had been a moment before. Realizing he didn't have a weapon he instead grabbed the first two by their front of their kosode and slammed them together, knocking them unconscious before flipping over them toward the other two. As he came down intending to kick them, one stabbed up toward him causing him to dodge to the side. As he moved past the blade Ichigo grabbed the shinigami's wrist and jerked it so that he stabbed his partner. He then twisted the wrist so that the blade dug in deeper making the impaled shinigami cough up blood, and the other's wrist broke making him cry out in pain. _Eight left_.

After picking up one of the fallen shinigami's ninjato he turned to find the last eight were all going to attack at once. In response Ichigo smiled and roared at them before charging forward. They all levelled their swords at him, only for him to jump over and land behind them. As he landed he spun and slashed one across the back; spraying blood over the ground. _Seven_. Another turned and tried to stab him. Ichigo moved to the side just enough for the blade to miss him. Then he grabbed the shinigami's arm and used the momentum from her thrust to pull her forward into the blade of Ichigo's ninjato. _Six_. Leaving his blade in his last opponent Ichigo turned to the find another turning toward him. Ichigo shot his fist forward and punched him in the jaw. The man's head whipped back and Ichigo heard a crack. _Five_.

By now the last five had turned around. Ichigo could see the fear in their eyes, but he was lost in the battle and he didn't care. He dove at the nearest two and grabbed them by the necks; slamming them into the ground and forming two small craters. _Four, Three_. The numbers resounded through his head, barely carrying meaning anymore. Another swung down at him as he stood but Ichigo caught his arm before the blade reached him. He then yanked the arm forward, tearing it off at the elbow, before kicking the shinigami in the chest so that he was launched away. _Two_. Ichigo tossed the severed arm to the side as he turned to find his next opponent standing a few feet to the side frozen in a fear; his sword held before him and a look of horror in his eyes. Ichigo jumped forward and knocked the blade to the side with his left hand as his right went to punch the shinigami in the chest. As his fist came down he gathered his power and unintentionally fired a bala into the shinigami's chest along with his fist. The shinigami was launched into the ground so hard it formed a crater; breaking most of the bones in his chest and crushing a few of his organ causing him to cough up a large amount of blood. _One_.

Suddenly Ichigo felt something slam into his back. He turned and found the last shinigami, Fukuzawa, standing behind him with fear in his eyes. And the tip of his blade was pressed into Ichigo's back…but it hadn't pierced the skin. He could see the man straining but the blade wouldn't go in. Ichigo smiled and turned, knocking the blade to the side, before slamming his hand through the man's chest and out his back. Fukuzawa coughed up blood onto Ichigo's arm sticking out of his chest before saying one word through the blood and pain. "_Monster_…" Then Ichigo pulled his blood soaked arm back out of the man and let him fall to the ground dead. _Zero_.

As his last opponent hit the ground an unnatural silence fell over the clearing. Ichigo turned to find his friends standing just beyond the edge of the battlefield. But when he turned to them and they saw his blood spattered form Orihime gasped and stumbled back, the pain and fear again clear in her eyes. Ishida moved protectively in front of her, directing his cold gaze towards Ichigo. His friends' expressions seemed much as they had been when they thought him a hollow. But rather than confused Renji now seemed horrified, and Sado was completely impassive. Standing amongst the carnage gazing into the faces of his friends Ichigo slowly came back to himself. As he did his face crumpled and he fell to his knees with his head bowed as the realization of what he had done hit him. He stayed there without moving, his long hair hanging forward covering his face.

Rukia immediately ran to his side shouting with concern, "Ichigo!"

When she began running over Renji shouted, "Rukia don't!" trying to call her back, but she ignored him.

As she reached Ichigo's side Rukia fell to her knees beside him and said more softly, "Ichigo." When he didn't respond she began checking to see if he had been injured, since he was covered in blood. After she had been fruitlessly checking him for injuries for a few moments she heard him mumble something, but she couldn't understand what he said and just kept searching.

"It's not my blood." he said louder so she would hear him. At his words Rukia froze; her hands in the middle of searching his chest for wounds. She could hear the pain, sadness, and…self-hatred in his words. Rukia had never thought she would ever see Ichigo like this. Then he turned his head toward her and his hair fell away from his face so his black and gold hollow eyes bored into her violet ones, and she saw that he was…crying. She could only remember having ever seen him cry once before; when he visited his mother's grave, and during the fight with the Grand Fisher that followed. "I killed them Rukia. I fought them, and I killed them, and I…I enjoyed it. I'm a monster." Then he hung his head, his hair falling to cover his face again.

While Rukia was looking to Ichigo everyone else watched the pair of them. Renji stood with his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou watching intently; still unsure of this new Ichigo and wanting to make sure Rukia didn't get hurt, but not wanting to interrupt them. As Orihime stood staring at Rukia and Ichigo stunned by everything that had happened and not sure how to respond, Ishida spoke. "Inoue-san."

But she didn't hear him and continued to stand, oblivious. It was only after he had said her name a couple more times that she finally realized he was talking and turned to answer him. "Y-yes Ishida-kun?"

"Those shinigami. You should do what you can for them." Ishida said, gesturing at the squad of shinigami strewn over the battlefield.

Orihime looked over, her eyes widening as she just realized how badly injured they were and that she should heal them. She stuttered out, "R-right…O-okay," before rushing over.

Ichigo had been talking so quietly that it was likely Rukia was the only one who could hear him, and she replied sternly but just as quietly. "They attacked you and you had to defend yourself. And you…you're not used to your new power yet, or the effect it has on you."

"I killed them!"

Rukia knelt there for a moment thinking, before standing up and…punching him in the top of the head. Renji immediately tightened his hand on his zanpakutou and took a step closer, thinking Ichigo might attack her. But Ichigo just looked up at her with wide eyes, surprised. "This is not the Ichigo I know! Not because you fought brutally, or because you killed your _enemies_, but because your sitting here feeling sorry for yourself! You shouldn't hate yourself for what you've done. You should stand up and fight. Take control of yourself and not allow yourself to be overtaken like that again." Then she turned her back on him and crossed her arms; facing into the woods so no one could see her face, and the concern that was so clearly written there.

Ichigo continued to stare at her back for a few seconds before lowering his head and allowing a small smile to creep across his face. "Thank you. Rukia." Rukia stiffened at his words but he didn't notice. As he stood up he gave the group a small grin. They could tell it was a bit forced and he was still troubled, but he wouldn't let it get to him. He could fight through this.

"So you're back with us then Kurosaki-san?" Urahara said with a small smirk, speaking up for the first time since Ichigo's battle.

"Yeah. Sorry about that Urahara-san."

"You better be!" Rukia snapped as she turned back to the group. She spoke harshly, but the corner of her mouth was quirked up in a small smile.

Urahara smiled in amusement at that before saying calmly, "No apologies necessary Kurosaki-san. But Kuchiki-san is right, in that the only thing for it is to move forward and vow to not let it happen again." Then some seriousness returning he continued, "But now as you may have noticed there is a bit of a problem."

"Oh you mean Soul Society wanting me dead?" Ichigo replied sarcastically. "Well what do you recommend we do?"

Urahara smiled and put up his finger in that 'I have an idea sort of way'. "I have already been thinking it through since I found out you were going to use the Final Getsuga Tenshou just in case. As I see it, while you are their main target they may still come after myself or your family in an attempt to find out where you are or draw you out. So it would be best if Tessai and myself took your family and went into hiding."

A little confused but still following along Ichigo asked, "What about me?"

"If you were to come with us, not only would it give them only one target but due to your large reiatsu, inability to hide it, and its hollow signature you would be very easy to find and it would put your family at risk. So I was thinking that you should go somewhere else. Somewhere outside Soul Society's territory, where they don't go often. Somewhere they aren't likely to follow. Somewhere where you will be safe and may even find allies.

"You don't mean–" Rukia began.

"Yes. Hueco Muendo."

Ichigo was shocked that Urahara would suggest this. "Are you insane!"

"Probably."

"I just went there and fought their strongest people! I died twice! I barely got out! And you want me to go back!"

"Yes." Urahara said simply, still smiling. "Your reiatsu is most similar to a hollow's now so it would be hardest to find you there, as you could blend in. It is vast and unmapped so a search would be very difficult. It is normally difficult for any non-hollow to get there. Although I understand Kurosutchi-san managed to create a Garganta with a similar method to mine, but it should still be some time before he perfects that. But lastly, and possibly most important; you may be able to find allies there to help you."

"What do you mean I could find allies there? Last time everything that moved tried to kill me! And from what I hear hollows even cannibalize _each_ _other_ most of the time!"

"Ah, but now that your part hollow the more intelligent ones such as the Adjuchas, Vasto Lorde, and Arrancar will be much less likely to attack you. Furthermore with Aizen gone they will be scattered and without leadership." Then his smile widened and he added, "And anyways I hear you already made some friends there!"

Ichigo looked at him sceptically. "You don't mean Nel and her gang?"

"See you already have a starting point!"

"You can't be serious!" Ichigo stared at him incredulously, but Urahara just continued smiling. Ichigo sighed. "I guess you're right. There's not really anywhere else I could go after all." Then a thought struck him and he asked suddenly, "But how am I going to get there? I doubt we could just go back and use the one at your shop."

Urahara's eyes sparkled with interest and he said, "Well actually, you should be able to open a Garganta yourself now! Go ahead try!" Then Urahara stared at Ichigo in anticipation.

Ichigo looked at his hand in wonder. He had to admit he was at least curious about this himself. "But how?"

Urahara thought for a moment before saying, "Close your eyes." Ichigo followed along on the shopkeeper's instructions as he went through them. "Hold out your hand in front of you and cup it as though your about to grab a curtain and sweep it aside. Now feel out with your mind and try and bring an image of Hueco Muendo to your mind." Ichigo imagined the desert area just outside the walls of Las Noches. "Then once you have the image fixed in your mind pull your hand from one side to the other as though you were sweeping aside the curtain."

Ichigo did as instructed and his fingertips tingled, and it felt to him as though he had pushed aside something solid. Then hearing a gasp he opened his eyes. And before him was a black cut in the air that was the trademark of the Garganta. "I…I did it." Ichigo said in wonder.

Urahara clapped his hands together and grinned like a kid at Christmas. "Excellent!"

Then, looking at the black crack and remembering his time in the hollow world Ichigo filled with apprehension again. This was only furthered when Rukia asked him, "Are you sure about this Ichigo?"

Ichigo swallowed and then smiled at her before replying. "Well it doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

Then her tough look came back and Rukia said, "Well be careful idiot. Like you said, you can't just walk to your death after all that's happened. And Renji and I will talk to the captains and try to get them to change their minds and stop hunting you." Then she turned and shouted, "Right Renji!"

Surprised and a little scared by her outburst he just said, "Yeah of course we will." But he wasn't even entirely sure what he was agreeing to. Rukia just gave a sinister smile in response before turning back to Ichigo.

Then Sado stepped forward and spoke, surprising everyone. "I'm coming with you." He paused and looked Ichigo in the eye. "We made a promise to fight each other. To watch each other's backs. I can't just let you go there alone."

Ichigo smiled at Sado and nodded. "Alright. I'll feel better knowing you're there to watch my back." Then he turned to Ishida and Orihime. "What are you going to do?"

Ishida answered first, still looking at Ichigo warily. "I will stay here and watch over Karakura town. Just because your gone it doesn't mean the hollows will leave too shiniga-." But then he paused mid word, before continuing in a slower and colder tone. "I guess that word doesn't apply to you anymore though does it? Well good luck Kurosaki."

Ichigo's smile faded a little at Ishida's words. He could tell the quincy didn't trust him anymore, and he couldn't blame him. He sighed before looking over at Orihime. "Inoue?"

She looked back at him from the man she was healing and stuttered, "I-I'm going stay here with Ishida-kun…uh K-Kurosaki-kun." Then she gave him a faint smile before pulling herself back to her healing.

Ichigo looked back over at Sado and said, "I guess we better get going then." Sado just nodded and they stepped over to stand in front of the yawning Garganta.

Urahara spoke up as they prepared to leave. "I will try and contact you as soon as we have reached my safe-house, and I will keep you updated if anything happens Kurosaki-san."

"Thanks Urahara-san. I owe you one." Ichigo replied gratefully.

But Urahara just waved it off. "You owe me nothing. After what you have done here today you owe no one anything, but everyone in fact owes you everything; even if some can't see it. It is the least I could do."

Ichigo nodded to him in gratitude. Then he looked towards Karakura town, where his sisters lay asleep and his father lay unconscious; he looked at Ishida, Orihime, and the bodies of the men he had killed; lastly he looked at Rukia and smiled, to which she smiled back. Then he looked back to the dark gash of the Garganta, and filled with mixed feelings he stepped through.

Sado prepared to go through after him but paused at the last moment and turned to Rukia. "I've known Ichigo a long time, and I will follow him anywhere and do anything for him. But you can do something for him that I could never do. Thank you Rukia." Then he turned back and followed his best-friend into the abyss.

Rukia stood with tears trailing down her cheeks as she watched the tear close on the two bravest men she had ever known.

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><p><em>AN: I hope I made up for the lateness of the chapter with the fact that this chapter is nearly double the length of the last one! But again sorry for the lateness for those of you who were waiting. Things have been hectic for both me and my Beta so…yeah._

_Speaking of my Beta, I again thank her for her assistance in improving and editing the chapter where possible. Again, my Beta is MisplacedSanity and I recommend you check out her stories if you're enjoying this one._

_I forgot to mention this last time, but I am in my first year of University, and so I have been, and will be quite busy. So I can't guarantee regular updates, or even updates often. It may only be once a month or even later. Could be sooner than once a month, but I wouldn't count on it. I can guarantee that unless I die I will be continuing to write. So if you're willing to bear with me and wait then that's awesome and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I just thought it would only be fair to give warning. My exams are also going to be happening over the next month, and while I will need to study, it also means classes have stopped so I may have more time to write as well; but again, no guarantees. Cross your fingers. But either way, the more you review the more I will try and update sooner._

_So again, review and tell me what you think about the story. Where you think it might be going, any suggestions, mistakes I missed, etc. __And feel free to check out my other story too. I could use some more feedback. Also, since Ichigo is heading to Hueco Muendo I may be introducing some OCs. But as I haven't thought about it much yet I am open to ideas and you can feel free to send me some characters if you like. There's no guarantee I'll use them, but it's up to you if you want to send them or not. __Hope to hear from ya! Until next time then._


	3. Fighting to Protect

_A/N: I know a lot of people were waiting for this chapter and I'm sorry it took so long. I spent some time working on my other story 'Dark Vengeance'. I had started that story quite a while ago and I felt like doing some work on it. The new chapter for it ended up being very long (might even be split into two) so…sorry. My Beta hasn't been able to check that out yet though (she's going to help me do some general editing for that story), so that's not published yet. I have also had some University stuff to do. And I do have a life you know!...No…That last part was a lie. I'm just easily distracted and I live on the internet. Anyways, back to this story. I hope you enjoy the chapter._

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><p>Chapter 3: <span>Fighting to Protect; Duty, Love, or Self?<span>

"Rukia…" Renji stood a few feet behind her; his hand outstretched as he prepared to comfort his childhood friend. She had been standing there crying quietly for some time now, and he had become worried. Normally she was so stoic; not even the days leading up to the date of her execution had she cried.

But he was surprised when she turned around. Her eyes were shining with tears, but she was no longer crying. In fact she was smiling. "He'll be okay. It's Ichigo. No matter what happens he always pulls through." She laughed lightly. "The stubborn fool."

Renji smiled back at her. "Yeah. He'll be okay." He wasn't so sure things would go as well this time, but she didn't need to hear his doubts. All she needed now was a friend to support her, and so that's what he would give her. As he always had. "Now come on, let's head back to Seireitei. We need to give our report on what happened here."

Rukia nodded silently before turning to give the area one last glance before they left. Urahara had left almost immediately after Ichigo, but Orihime was still there healing the Shinigami as best she could while Ishida kept a diligent watch. Rubble was strewn about from the two battles, and many trees at the edge of the clearing had been destroyed from various impacts. The bodies of Shinigami were also scattered throughout the field from the second of the battles. Those who had merely been knocked unconscious or had already been healed by Orihime were just starting to stir; but many still lay bleeding, and some would clearly never move again.

Seeing the intent expressions on their friends faces, the two Shinigami decided not to disturb them. And so after a quick glance at one another, Rukia and Renji simultaneously shunpo'd away towards Seireitei.

Ishida watched as the two left. After waiting a few more moments to be sure they were gone he turned to the orange-haired girl next to him. Orihime had been quietly sobbing since even before Ichigo left, and she still was; even as she tried to heal the gaping slash across the back of her Shinigami patient. He felt she didn't want to bother the others, and since as far as he could tell they either didn't notice or didn't care, he hadn't said anything. But with all the others gone now he walked forward and put a hand on her shoulder as he crouched down beside her.

She immediately turned into his shoulder and began crying more loudly. "Wha' happen' Ishi'a-'un!" Her voice was muffled by his shirt and her crying. "Why di' 'urosa'i-'un oo 'at! Wha' happen' oo 'im!" Anything else she might have said became unintelligible as her crying deepened.

The Quincy boy just held her and patted her back as she cried. After a few moments he said coldly, "Kurosaki…"

x

**Some Time Later…**

"…Ichigo is dead!" The authoritative voice boomed across the open chamber. Only a handful had been able to assemble at such short notice after the battle. As well as the three traitor Captains, Captain Komamura and Vice-Captain Hinamori had been killed in battle. Captain Unohana and Vice-Captain Kotetsu of the 4th division were also missing; as they were busy healing Captain Ukitake of the 13th, as well as Captain Hitsugaya and Vice-Captain Matsumoto of the 10th, who had all been grievously injured. But of the Captains and Vice-Captains present at the meeting in the Captain's Assembly Hall, not a single one was able to avoid showing surprise at the Captain-Commander's words.

Rukia especially – who had been bowing next to the runner of the 2nd division squad, Tanaka, after giving their reports – was shocked at what had been said. She jerked upright, forgetting all formality, and shouted, "Ichigo is not dead!" Despite the situation, Byakuya – who had even managed to find time to bathe and get a change of clothes before the meeting – looked sternly over at his adopted sister for her rudeness. But Rukia was enraged and didn't even notice her brother's glare. "He fought with everything he had, and even gave up his Shinigami powers to defeat Aizen! Only to be attacked immediately afterward by those he protected; and now this!"

Buy Yamamoto just continued on after his pause; not even acknowledging Rukia's interruption. "While he still managed to defeat the traitor Aizen Sosuke, Kurosaki Ichigo unfortunately became a Hollow in the process. This transformation was shown when he fought a squad of Shinigami sent to investigate. They have since returned, but many are still in critical condition, and some are dead."

Further angered at being ignored, Rukia yelled again. "He has Hollow powers, but he's still human! Those Shinigami attacked him, and he had to defend himself! He wasn't used to his new powers yet and he lost control, but he's still Ichigo!"

Unable to continue ignoring the girl, Yamamoto sighed and turned to look at Renji where he stood behind Byakuya. "Vice-Captain Abarai; you were present during this incident. What is your judgment on the Kurosaki boy's condition?"

A little startled at being addressed Renji straightened up at attention as best he could in his still battered state and bedraggled uniform. Unlike his Captain, he hadn't bothered to take any time to make himself presentable. But once he registered the question he felt like he had been winded. He glanced nervously at Rukia where she stood looking at him hopefully before looking back to the Captain-Commander. Finally he just looked at the ground, and feeling sick with himself he said, "I-I don't know sir. Sometimes he seemed like the old Ichigo, but then he would fight like a wild animal; brutally killing his opponents, almost gleefully. I'm…just not sure. Sorry, I can't say Yamamoto-sama."

Yamamoto nodded to Renji before turning to the second girl kneeling across from him, next to Rukia. "Tanaka. What information do you have from your squad's report regarding the subject?"

The 2nd division Shinigami immediately stood at attention and began, "Yes, Captain Commander Yamamoto-sama! A unknown Hollow reiatsu was detected in–"

But Captain Soifon cut the lower ranking Shinigami off, saying, "Skip to the subject himself Tanaka! We know the rest."

Tanaka bowed to her Captain, before continuing. "Yes Captain! Sorry Captain! Upon arrival we discovered that the subject emitting the Hollow reiatsu was Kurosaki Ichigo; Substitute Shinigami, now turned into a Hollow of unknown rank." Rukia opened her mouth to object, but was silenced by a look from her brother; though she still looked clearly furious at the discussion. Not noticing the exchange Tanaka continued her report while still staring unblinkingly at Yamamoto. "While there was no visible Hollow hole on the boy, all present could still tell he was a Hollow by his reiatsu and his eyes. The Hollow hole may also have been hidden under his clothes however. He also had black markings on his body similar to those found on many other Hollow. When Squad Leader Fukuzawa-sama explained our mission to retrieve the Hollow boy the subject initially seemed willing; though hesitant. But upon interruption from the criminal Urahara Kisuke the boy became hostile and refused to be escorted to Seireitei." At Urahara's name Soifon softly cursed and Tanaka paused uncertainly and glanced at her Captain. But seeing all the Captains' eyes were still fixed on her, her resolve returned and she continued. "When it became clear that force would be necessary Fukuzawa-sama sent me to return and report the events to Seireitei. I was not present for the events following this, but I have collected statements from the rest of my squad concerning them. The subject fought alone, though my squad-mates say the others wanted to help him. In the beginning his motions were unsure and he seemed confused, but as the battle progressed he seemed to become more savage and his motions more fluid." Tanaka paused and had to swallow before she finished her report, with her voice nearly trembling. "He defeated the entire squad alone, killing several members including Squad Leader Fukuzawa-sama. He did this without receiving any injuries."

There was silence as everyone absorbed this information. Rukia looked around at the faces of the highest ranking people in Soul Society, and she knew that she had failed.

The Captain Commander's voice cut through the sombre atmosphere. "That will be all Tanaka. Leave us."

Tanaka bowed and said, "Yes, Yamamoto-sama." Then she turned and strode out of the chamber.

As the large doors closed behind her, Yamamoto continued. "It is as I said. The boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, is no more. Hollow or not, his actions prove that he is no longer our ally and he is too powerful to be left alone. He has become an enemy of Soul Society and we must take action!" He shouted the last sentence and even slammed the butt of his cane against the wooden floor to emphasize his words.

Ever the voice of reason, Captain Kyoraku tried to calm his old sensei. "He's just a boy Yama-jii. Isn't this a little rash, especially after just finishing another war?" He paused for a moment. When he continued, his voice – that was always calm even in the harshest battles – nearly broke. "You know if Jushiro were here he would have agreed with me…That boy has done so much for us. Are we really the sort of people who could turn our backs on that?"

Rukia's hopes rose just the slightest; only to be dashed again as Yamamoto spoke.

"It is precisely _because_ we just finished a war that we must do this! We can not be seen as weak now. By destroying this last major threat, even while in such a weakened state, we show all the foes that may be lurking that **we are still strong!"** He slammed his cane down again; the motion making the empty left sleeve of his haori flap ominously.

After hearing Yamamoto's words, Shunsui looked around at the other Captain's and saw that he wouldn't be able to persuade them. He tried to throw Rukia a last reassuring smile before he lowered his straw hat over his face a little as his sadness struck him.

"We will assemble a team immediately to pursue the boy into Hue–"

"I'll go!" Rukia cut across the Captain Commander again. "Renji and I were in Hueco Mundo with Ichigo before!"

"_**No girl!**_" The Captain Commander shouted back angrily, his eyes opening fully. "Not only have you shown greatly your attachment and allegiance to this boy, but _now_ you recall a time in which you _directly_ disobeyed orders for him! Be glad we have no time to bring you to justice for your many crimes, and forget about this boy before I _am_ forced to punish you for the things have done!"

After a moment of shock Captain Zaraki cut through the tension as easily as he cut through anything else, casually saying, "Hell, I'll go! Looks like Ichigo finally got some more fighting spirit at least! Might be weaker than when he fought Aizen, but it still sounds like I could have some fun with him!" A manic grin broke across his face as he spoke. "Maybe he'll be even stronger by the time I catch up with him too!"

"Yay, Ken-chan!" Kenpachi's pink-haired Vice-Captain shouted gleefully from behind him.

Captain Kurotsuchi scoffed and said, "Brute. Just make sure there's something left when you're done."

Calmer now, Yamamoto ignored Captain Kurotsuchi's comment and simply said, "No. None who have helped or befriended the boy in the past will be allowed on this mission. We cannot afford for emotions to cloud our judgement in this."

"I will go Captain Commander." Soifon spoke with her cold confidence. "It was a squad from my division that failed to capture him, and so I should go to repair the failure and restore the honor of my division."

"I had considered that, but no. You will find the boy's family and allies, and question them about his possible whereabouts."

Soifon responded by nodding and saying quickly, "Understood."

Rukia's mouth fell open slightly as she took this in. Urahara was right. "His fam–"

But this time Yamamoto cut her off. "Your report has been taken in for consideration. You may go now Kuchiki Rukia." He stared her in the eye, making it a clear dismissal.

Without turning to look at him, Byakuya said calmly, "Vice-Captain Abarai, if you would escort Rukia back to her barracks."

Renji looked at his Captain in surprise. "But–" Byakuya's sudden glare cut him off and he just sighed and said, "Yes Captain." He walked over to Rukia and gently grabbed her arm saying, "C'mon Rukia. Let's go." She shot him a look of hurt and betrayal that caused a stabbing pain through his chest, but she went with him.

Once the pair was gone Yamamoto gave a nod of approval and turned to Captain Kurotsuchi. "You constructed Garganta while in Hueco Mundo to get back to the Living World and Soul Society. I assume you can construct another to transport a team back to pursue the Kurosaki boy?"

The eccentric Captain had initially been quite annoyed to be pulled from his study of the recovered Arrancar corpses; but as he learned of what had happened to Ichigo he became quite interested. He had nearly forgotten about the Arrancar bodies at his lab by this point. "Oh, of course; I already have one made. I constructed it as soon as I got back." As he spoke he waved his hand in a 'why did you bother asking' sort of way. But after he finished with that his eyes lit up and he added, "I would also like to be part of this team however. I am quite intrigued by the Kurosaki boy's transformation, and would like the opportunity to study it more closely."

Yamamoto nodded. "You and your Vice-Captain will be going. Captain Kuchiki will be leading this team. The three of you were in Hueco Mundo previously and are familiar with the terrain. Vice-Captains Hisagi and Sasikabe will also be accompanying you, as we don't know how many opponents you will be facing." He paused and looked at those gathered in the Captain's Assembly Hall. Kurotsuchi grinned and muttered, _Excellent, _while the others nodded their assent. "With that settled this meeting is adjourned. We cannot afford any mistakes! We alone protect the balance! Even in our weakest moment, We. Must. Be. Strong!"

x

Looking out the mouth of their cave over the rolling desert Sado sat wondering what their next move would be. He looked over his should at Ichigo where he sat in a meditative position in the corner. Ichigo had said he needed to talk with his Hollow, so Sado had told him he'd keep watch. As he looked back to the desert under the eternal night of Hueco Mundo he thought back over what had happened since they came here.

**Earlier…**

The close friends exited the Garganta together to find themselves standing in the desert of Hueco Mundo facing the sprawling fortress of Las Noches. When a few moments passed without his friend saying anything, Sado turned to see Ichigo standing silently, staring at the sandy ground with a forlorn expression. Now that the two were alone again, it was clear that some of Ichigo's despair had returned. So Sado decided to take the initiative. "We should probably find somewhere to stay. We need rest, and it's too dangerous to be out in the open."

"Yeah." Ichigo didn't even look up.

So they set out through the desert, with Chad leading. They steered clear of Las Noches, as they didn't know who might be there now, and they were still weak from their various fights over the last days. It still amazed Sado; just how much had happened in one day.

After trudging trough the desert for some time, Sado found one of the stone trees of The Forest of Menos that had pushed through to the surface. It must have been an exceptionally large one at that, because the trunk was still quite large around. So large that it could even serve as a den were one to hollow it out, as it seemed some past Hollow had done. But it seemed empty now, so Sado lead Ichigo over and they settled in. The weaker Hollow generally aren't very small, so the cave that was carved into the tree was fairly spacious.

Once they'd made sure that the cave was safe and there was no one else in the area they rested for a while on some beds of sand that had been made up in the corners. After a while Ichigo spoke up, "Hey, Sado. I need to talk to my Hollow. Could you keep watch?" He spoke quietly, but he knew Sado would hear.

Sado grunted an affirmative and moved to sit at the entrance to the cave. Knowing he could trust Sado to watch over him, Ichigo sat down at the back of the cave cross-legged in the Jinzen pose. He was confused for a moment, as he didn't have a sword to place over his knees, or 'go into'. But he just compromised with putting his hands on his knees and focusing inside himself. Reaching…

x

**Present Time…**

Ichigo opened his eyes. The cave was gone, so he knew that logically he must be in his inner world. _But…this couldn't be it…Could it?_ he thought. Looking over the destroyed city from his vantage on the roof of the tallest building, he refused to believe it was his inner world. It looked like the same city he remembered from his past trips into his soul; but it was…apocalyptic! Fires were raging throughout the buildings, the windows were shattered, some buildings had collapsed; those that were still standing were horribly damaged, with chucks appearing to have been blasted away. The skies had even darkened to a blood red color behind the curtain of black storm clouds. Lightning was crashing down constantly, while strong winds whipped the pouring rain about so sharply it stung. And weirdest of all…it was all right-side-up! _It just can't be!_

"What's wrong Kingy? Not what you were expecting?" The mocking voice sounded from behind Ichigo, and he whipped around to meet it.

Hichigo was just jumping down from a flagpole on the opposite corner of the roof from Ichigo when he turned around. He wore the same outfit that Ichigo now wore, but in his usual white and black style. "What happened here!" Ichigo screamed at his Hollow.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Hichigo spoke casually as he walked towards Ichigo, his arms held out to the side in a shrug. "This world represents your soul after all. It reflects your emotions." Then his tone turning suddenly angry, Hichigo snarled, "So why don't you tell me! What! The fuck! Happened!" Then he pounced towards Ichigo.

His sudden action took Ichigo by surprise and he blocked too late; allowing Hichigo to grab him by the collar and slam him into the concrete floor of the roof. Then he snarled into Ichigo's face, "Come on King! The city hasn't devolved to your pathetic town again, and it hasn't drowned either; because you're not feeling helpless! Are you now! No! You hate yourself! You hate what you've become! You hate the danger you put everyone in! And you hate what you did to those Shinigami! Am I right!"

"Yes! Okay!" Ichigo shouted back and he threw his Hollow off. As his Hollow skidded back across the roof, landing on his feet, Ichigo stood again. "And I thought I beat you before! How did you take over during my fight with those Shinigami!" Ichigo knew the words were empty, but he had to say them anyway.

Hichigo just laughed. "I didn't take over Kingy! And you know that perfectly well. That was all you." He smirked and laughed again. "I told you that you'd be more bestial now, but you underestimated it. When a beast is threatened, attacked, cornered, it will strike out! It will fight, and it won't worry about whether or not its attackers are hurt. And if it does, it's only to make sure that it _did_ hurt them! It's your Hollow instincts! I told you about these instincts before Ichigo, but you didn't listen. Hollow live for battle! For that feeling of victory as they kill their foe and feed on it's energy; becoming stronger! That is a part of you now! If you fight it…if you despise it…then this is what becomes of your world! Your soul!"

Ichigo swung his arm across in anger. "What! So I'm just supposed to become a monster now! Just let myself be consumed with bloodlust!" Ichigo spat the words back at the Hollow.

"Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. But I know that with your self-righteous attitude you'll never give in to it, and you'll fight it with all you have and just get us killed the first time we face a real opponent." Hichigo spoke calmly now, walking to the edge of the roof to look over the wrecked city. "So no. Don't give in…But don't fight it either. You have to control it! Learn to work with it! Channel it! Use it!" As he spoke he became excited again, until he was shouting. "Use these instincts to make yourself stronger! Because if you fight against them–" he stood at the edge of the roof and turned to face Ichigo, casting his arms wide, gesturing to their ruined world as the rain dripped down from his out flung arms, "–it will destroy you!"

Ichigo sighed; partly because he knew his Hollow was right, and partly due to exasperation at the dramatic way in which his Hollow gave the speech. He walked over to stand next to his Hollow and look over the apocalyptic landscape. "Fine, you're right. I'll try it." Then he turned back to his Hollow. "Was there anything else?"

Hichgio smirked at his King. "Yeah, there is." He gestured at their world again. "Your crazy world's been turned on its side! That's because the people you thought were your allies are trying to kill ya King!" Hichigo poked Ichigo in the chest. "Besides your big Mexican buddy, you're all alone! Now how do you feel about that?"

Ichigo smacked his Hollow's hand away. "What are you, my therapist! I'm doing great thanks."

"Oh come on! Your sarcasm is so thick, Zangetsu couldn't cut it. And I'm not your therapist, I'm the voice in your head you crazy bastard."

"Oh thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

"My point is, Ichigo, your friends have deserted you, and your fighting your old allies. Your breaking new ground here. The Rules, have changed. Think about all the fights you have ever been in since you got your powers. How many have you fought for yourself? How many times have you fought, solely because some one else wanted to hurt you?"

Ichigo thought back and was surprised by the answer. "None." His eyes widened and he looked at his Hollow, who was grinning widely.

"You've fought for your family." A memory flashed by of Rukia plunging her zanpakuto into his chest and giving him the power to save his family. "You've fought for innocent plus souls." The soul of a young boy being chased through the park by an insect-like Hollow. "You've fought for your friends." Inoue being attacked by her brother as a Hollow. Sado being attack by the Hollow, Shrieker, as it stalked the boy in the Parakeet. "You fought to avenge your mother." Being stabbed by the Grand Fisher, and continuing to fight. "You fought through Soul Society to save Rukia." Flashes of his fights with Renji, Ikkaku, Kenpachi, Byakuya. "You fought through Hueco Mundo to save Inoue." Dordoni, Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Ulquiorra. "You fought Aizen to save everyone!" Ichigo standing alone against Aizen. "But not once did you fight to save yourself. But now you're the target Ichigo! There's no one else in the crosshairs this time! Just you. So the question is…can you do it? Can you cut down these people who were once your allies…once your friends…just for your own sake? Can you kill in your own defence?"

Ichigo's head dropped and he stared at the edge of the roof; not meeting his Hollow's eye. "I promised Rukia I wouldn't let myself die," Ichigo mumbled.

Hichigo turned and turned to him and spat out, "No! None of that shit! No, 'I promised', or 'so and so would be sad'! You! Can you fight…can you kill…for yourself!"

"I-I don't know…"

"That's not good enough! I'm not about to let you get us killed because your to soft to defend yourself!"

Ichigo's head snapped back up and he shouted back, "Well it's going to have to be! I won't know until I'm actually fighting. So until then, you're just going to have to get over it!"

Hichigo looked at the defiance in Ichigo's eyes, the gold and black eyes of a Hollow, and he smirked. "I guess you're right King. I trust you'll be able to do what's needed when the time comes. And if you can't…" Hichigo's eyes glinted over his evil grin. "…I'll kill you myself."

Ichigo smirked back. "You haven't managed it yet."

"It only takes one…" He said quietly. Then, returning to his normal mocking tone he continued, "But that's for another time. Now there's one last thing we need to do…"

Ichigo's face went blank with confusion. "What's that?"

With no more warning than an amused smirk Hichigo suddenly used sonido, appearing behind Ichigo with a soft boom and driving his fist toward the back of Ichigo's head while charging a bala.

Ichigo barely managed to dodge, and the bala crashed into the ground behind where he had been standing, making a small crater. Then he screamed at his Hollow, who was merely standing there with a sadistic grin as if nothing had happened, "What the hell was that sudden attack about!"

His Hollow just smirked. "If you're going to stay alive, I'm going to need to teach you how to fight. Now…I need to show you how to use your new powers." Then he brought up his right hand, with the palm facing Ichigo…and started charging a cero.

x

Sado turned from his watch over the desert for a moment to look at Ichigo again. He could feel his friend's reiatsu fluctuating as though he were in a fight. _You're training aren't you Ichigo? Getting stronger. I can feel it._ Then out loud, he said, "Work hard Ichigo. This won't be easy. There's going to be hard times ahead. And it's going to take everything we have."

* * *

><p><em>AN: No fight this chapter, I know. So sad. Well I had considered showing Ichigo's training with his Hollow, but I decided against it. If any wants to see it then mention that in your review and I might include parts in flashbacks later._

_Again, the offer still stands for sending me some OCs. Now that Ichigo is in Hueco Mundo this might be your last chance. After the next chapter it will likely be too late. Or if you like, you could just send me some recommendations for who you think could pop up while Ichigo is there. I already have some ideas, but I would mind getting some input. Might not use your OCs or suggestions, but it will give me something to consider and you never know right?_

_Well I think that's all I need to say. So Read and Review! Hope to hear from you. Until next time, Dark Eccentric out!_


	4. Wolf's Den

_A/N: Hello all! The long awaited fourth instalment of Emptiness has arrived! [Tch. Yeah. "Long awaited".] Yeah, whatever. Well here it is anyway._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4: Wolf's Den<span>

In the cave they had taken refuge in, Sado stood guard at the entrance while Ichigo "conferred" with his inner Hollow. As soon as he felt his friend's reiatsu settle back to its natural patterns, Sado turned to where Ichigo sat at the back of the cave. Ichigo's eyes opened immediately, and gone were the uncertainty, fear, and despair that Sado had seen as they'd trekked through the desert. The young giant gave a rare smile; his friend was back.

Seeing Sado smile, Ichigo grinned back as he stood. "Let's go." Upon seeing his friend giving him a questioning look Ichigo clarified, "I need to test out some new moves. We're going to go Hollow hunting." With that he stood and moved to exit the cave with Sado trailing behind him, before suddenly stopping dead.

"Oh what's this? And here I thought we'd finally get a chance to rest…" a voice drawled from the doorway.

x

The raven haired girl sat at the edge of the narrow and pointed cliff, looking over the patches of forest and slum villages that had once been her home those many years before. She looked over her shoulder at the three mounds where her friends lay. _Ichigo...be careful..._As soon as Renji had escorted her from the Captain's Hall she ran. She ran and didn't stop until she got here. The cliff overlooking Inuzuri, the 78th district of South Rukongai. The place where the friends of her and Renji's childhood were buried. The place where they had stood and decided they would become Shinigami.

Rukia wondered now if she regretted that decision. Now that the Shinigami had betrayed Ichigo. Betrayed her. She sighed. _I don't regret it...Not for a second. All these things that have happened. All the people I've met. Kaien. Nii-Sama. Captian Ukitake...Ichigo...None of that would have happened if I stayed here._ Just then she heard footsteps behind her and she sprang up, her hand going to the hilt of her sword.

"It's okay Rukia. It's just us." a kindly voice said. A voice she immediately recognized; along with the men. The signature long white hair of Captain Ukitake Jushiro and the pink kimono and straw hat of Captain Kyoraku Shunsui.

She let go of her sword hilt, saying with surprise. "Captain Ukitake! You're okay! And Captain Kyoraku; what are you two doing here?"

Jushiro smiled back at his squad member from where he stood next to Shunsui. "Yes; Captain Unohana does certainly live up to her reputation. Though, I still won't be fit for much for a while." The white-haired man paused a moment, coughing heavily before smiling weakly. "Not that I have been for quite some time..."

Smiling sadly and patting his friend on the back, Shunsui said, "Yes old friend, I think you'll be sitting this one out."

The sickly captain turned in surprise. "But you'll need me to help you stand against sensei?"

Tilting his hat forward and smiling softly Shunsui replied, "The circumstances are different this time my friend. I think most will be happening in Hueco Mundo, and Yama-jii won't be going there himself. And I'll need you to stay and keep an eye on him anyway. Plus..." He paused for a moment and his grin flashed, "we do have others volunteering. We should be fine."

Looking back and forth between the two Captains confused, Rukia chose this moment to cut in. "What? What are you talking about?"

Jushiro turned and looked down at the girl kindly. "We're going to save Ichigo of course."

Rukia was stunned. Just when she'd lost hope..."Oh..." She stumbled forward and hugged the white haired man who had done so much for her. "Thank you Captain...thank you so much..."

x

"So Captain, what do you think of all this stuff with Ichigo?" Ikkaku said, addressing the large man sprawling, relaxed in the dirt next to where he sat. They were just sitting at the edge of the field used as the 11th division's training grounds, taking at short break.

"Eh." The big man shrugged and rumbled. "First he's a Shinigami. Then he's one of those masked guys. Now he's a Hollow? I don't really care what he is." Zaraki Kenpachi sat up and dug the blade of his zanpakuto in the stone ground and leaned on the hilt, grinning. "But he's strong and always makes for a good fight. It would be annoying if he died so soon, especially if it wasn't from me."

"All of this turning on our ally is so unbeautiful." Yumichika spoke up from where he leaned against the wall of the barracks.

"So what do ya think Captain? What are we gonna do?" Ikkaku asked.

Kenpachi chuckled and stood. "Guess we're gonna have to help him out again. Che, this guy needs to learn to handle his own problems or he's not gonna be worth fighting."

"Seems I won't be needing to persuade you then," a feminine voice drifted from around the corner as its blonde and busty owner came into sight. "Its too bad, I was looking forward to that." Matsumoto Rangiku pouted at the three men and squeezed her breasts together.

"What are you talking about Matsumoto?" Ikkaku snapped.

Rangiku sighed and smiled, getting serious again. "You're not the only ones who want to help Ichigo."

x

Ichigo reached for his sword before recalling its absence and settling awkwardly into a fighting stance. As Sado settled into his fighting stance beside him Ichigo examined the intruder and started in surprise. "I recognize you!" He looked over the disheveled and wounded looking man in the doorway. He wore a white robe-like outfit and had messy brown hair, and what looked like a bottom jaw bone was attached at the base of his neck. "You're one of the Arrancar that worked for Aizen! You took Inoue away after I saved her from that guy with the eyepatch! Well its over, okay! I killed Aizen! There's no reason for us to fight!"

Noticing something Ichigo missed, Sado added. "And what do you mean we? Is there someone with you?"

The man snorted. "Tch, you must not have been a Hollow long kid. Most fight just for the sake of it. But you're right, and I'm not like that anyway." The man loped in and laid casually on one of the sand beds. "Ah yeah, I did say we didn't I? Well wasn't really hiding anything anyway. Come on Lilynette, they're not gonna fight us."

Suddenly a young girl with short light green hair under a horned bone helmet that covered her left eye, with one horn cut off, poked her head in the doorway. "What the hell Starrk!" The girl yelled angrily. "Didn't you hear him!? He said he killed Aizen-sama!"

The seemingly relaxed man seemed sad as he said, "Yeah..." With a sigh he sat up and leaned against the wall as Lilynette edged into the room, glaring suspiciously at Ichigo. "But you see, Aizen betrayed us. We joined him because we were alone...We had wandered the sands alone, and any who came near us died simply from our presence because we were too strong. Thats why we split into two and became Lily and myself. But when Aizen found us he offered friends: others who were strong and that we could be around without killing them. But he betrayed us. He used us and got us killed. He even killed Halibel himself, because he had no more use for her..." Starrk refocused his gaze on Ichigo. "But now we found you. You're strong enough to survive our presence; even stronger than Aizen it seems, and a better person to boot. So if you don't mind, we'd be willing to join you."

Lilynette turned to her partner in shock. "We would!? What the hell you lazy bastard! Aizen died so now you're just throwing yourself out to the next guy who comes along? And can't you feel his reiatsu? We're stronger than him!" At this Ichigo interjected with an indignant 'Hey!', but Lilynette ignore him and kept yelling. "You just want to serve him because you're too lazy to lead!"

Casually taking the verbal abuse, Starrk replied, "I probably am. I don't like to fight either. But think about one thing too Lily. He killed Aizen-Sama. He might be weaker now, but he probably was just weakened during the fight. We're weak from our fight too, but once he recovers He'll likely be stronger than us again."

Lilynette just kept shouting. "Then we should kill him now while we can! Get revenge for Aizen-Sama!"

"No." Starrk stated bluntly. "Revenge is pointless. And as I already said anyway, he betrayed us." He sighed and leaned back more. "So the best thing to do now would be move on. Find new friends." He turned to the others. "Like Ichigo here."

Ichigo sighed and sat back down, with Sado following his lead. "Sounds good to me. I don't want to fight either, and you don't seem like a bad guy. So do whatever ya want, I don't care. Stay, go..."

Lilynette just grumbled and sat next to Starrk. "Well this is our den. Dumbasses..."

Ichigo paused for a second in surprise. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Jerks..." Lilynette muttered.

Ichigo chuckled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah...anyways. Me and Chad were about to head out to do some training. 'Get me back in shape', I guess you could say. You're welcome to join us."

Lilynette was about to snap back, but Starrk put out a hand to stop her and said, "I think we'll sit this one out. We need some time to recover from our wounds. And I have a feeling Lily is going to chew me out for all this and you don't want to be there for that."

Ichigo nodded along understanding the need to recover. But at the mention of Starrk getting chewed out he went blank-faced and glanced at the fuming Lilynette. After a pause Ichigo just said, "Well see you later then," and walked out, with Sado trailing silently behind him.

x

The pair walked through the desert of Hueco Mundo for some time before Sado finally spoke up. "So...where are we going?"

Ichigo paused. "...I was thinking we'd walk and eventually find some Hollow to fight...?" He turned and smiled sheepishly at his friend.

_Heh, thinking like a true Hollow there, King. Though a really fucking stupid one._

"How about we head to the Menos Forest?" Sado replied.

_See, the big guy gets it!_

_Shut up. _"Oh. Right. Good idea, lets do that." After a pause, during which Ichigo looked around vaguely, seeing nothing but sand and some sparse trees, he asked, "Um...How do we get there?"

Wordlessly, Sado simply backed away from Ichigo. Then with a shout of "El Directo!" he summoned his Brazo Derecha de Gigante and fired an energy blast at their feet. The ground burst apart in rubble and the fell into an open chasm. Sado fell silently while Ichigo flailed and tumbled, screaming. As the fell they saw massive stone pillars all around them in the dark.

They landed in a cloud of smoke at the bottom of the cavern. The dust cleared to reveal Sado having landed in a kneeling position next to a pile of Ichigo. But Ichigo quickly whipped to his feet and shouted, "What the hell Sado!"

In response Sado just shrugged. "We're here." Then he pointed to the side. "And there are the Hollow you were looking for."

And there were. The blast and fall had attracted quite a gathering of weak Hollows. Though they were beginning to sense his reiatsu and see that maybe this wouldn't be the easy meal they expected. Ichigo looked at them and automatically gave a menacing grin. _Oooh yeahh. Now we're talking._ It looked like they were mostly Gillian, but that would do. _Heh. Let's start with hands alone shall we._Ichigo just kept grinning. _Won't need more._ "You take left I'll take right."

Sado nodded and they charged. They both shot forward and Ichigo quickly lost track of Sado, besides the occasional shout or blast from the left. As soon as he reached the line of Gillian he leapt up and slammed his hand into the mask of the first; crushing it and killing the Hollow.

Ichigo felt an odd sensation as he jumped off the dissolving Hollow to attack the next. But he put it from his mind as he fought; focusing on his battle with the singleminded ferocity of a Hollow. Destroying one, and then the next like a machine.

After several more had fallen to him, Hichigo spoke up. _Now try a cero._ Ichigo lifted his arm and levelled it at a approaching group of Gillian. Then, as Hichigo had taught him, he gathered his reiatsu in his hand before firing the swirl of white and red energy towards the Hollows in a beam. The blast tore through the crowd of Gillian, dissolving them into spirit particles. And then...this time Ichigo really felt it. The same sensation as when he killed that first one, but amplified. A feeling of power. Of becoming stronger and energized. And now that he looked, he saw the spirit particles of the dead Hollow flowing into him. As Ichigo started to panic his Hollow cut in, _Snap out of it, King. We'll talk about that later. Bigger problems now._

Looking around he saw that he was right. Drawn, by the battle and large reiatsu expenditure, several Adjuchas class Hollow had shown up. Seeing them approach, Ichigo and Sado finished their opponents and came together to face the new enemy. Sado already had his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo (Left Arm of the Devil) summoned now, as they both entered their battle stances.

There were five Adjuchas. There was a large one that looked almost like a bear with bone armor, standing on its hind legs. Another that was like a snake with arms, standing upright. The third was like a a half-bird half-man, with a pair of wings, a beak-like mask, and taloned hands and feet. Fourth was a frog-like creature with powerful hind legs and an eerily wide mouth. The last was exceptionally fearsome. It looked like some sort of demonic bunny rabbit crossed with a body builder; long ear, horns, razor sharp teeth and a massive body. All five of them were quite muscled and had a hollow hole in the center of their chests, as well as a mask of bone for their face.

The Bird Hollow stepped forward first and spoke, in a high-pitched squawking voice. "We haven't seen your sort here before. But whatever you are you feel strong, and eating you will be a great help towards becoming Vasto Lordes!" He turned towards the others slightly and screeched, "Get them!"

As the Adjuchas charged forward, Sado ran to meet the Bear-like one in a clash of strength while Ichigo dodged then Snake's lunge forward. Grinning at the prospect of a challenging battle, Ichigo fought ruthlessly.

As the Snake Hollow shot past him again he reached out and caught it around the middle, pulling it toward him with one hand and using his other hand to punch it with a bala charged fist. The powerful hit sent it rocketing away into one of the stone pillars where it crashed in a cloud of dust. Ichigo glanced over to see Sado win the dual arm-wrestling match with the Bear-Hollow by tearing its arms off and kicking it away, killing it instantly. Seeing this, Ichigo grinned wildly at Sado who nodded back before they moved onto their next opponents.

The Demonic Bunny ran forward, while the Bird Hollow and flew over them and the Frog got in position, both firing ceros. Ichigo and Sado both jumped back out of the way of the ceros just in time...allowing the charging Hollow to barrel into them; throwing Ichigo to the side and punching at Sado. Sado just blocked the punch with the shield on his right arm before bring his left around to slam into the Hollow's side, destroying it.

Meanwhile Ichigo recovered from being knocked away, pouncing up at the flying Hollow. As he flew past he grabbed the Bird-like Hollow and used his momentum to turn and throw him at the Frog-like one. The two collided in a heap, and before they could recover Ichigo thrust his arm toward them and shouted, "Cero!" firing a blast of red energy toward the pair. As the two Adjuchas disintegrated Ichigo turned to see Sado finishing off the demonic bunny.

Coming back down to Sado, Ichigo started, "Thats all of th-" before stopping mid-word as Sado's eyes widened in surprise. Before he could turn around he heard a slash as a sword carved through flesh.

He turned to find the Snake Hollow from earlier dissolving behind him and figure standing over it in a tattered fur cloak, adorned with Hollow masks. "This one was only wounded. When you fight multiple targets you should make sure of your kills to avoid surprise attacks." As the figure sheathed his sword and turned toward them Ichigo recognized him.

"Ashido!? We thought you were dead!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"No." Ashido said calmly. "I was merely trapped behind by the cave in. And as I have lived here alone for centuries already, I could clearly hold my own against a few Menos. Now you are Ichigo and Sado right? You were friends of Rukia's? Is she alright? And were you not a Shinigami, Ichigo? But now your reiatsu feels like...that of a Hollow...What has happened?" As he took in the situation Ashido grew increasingly suspicious; his hand drifting to his sword slowly.

Ichigo sighed. "Its a long story...especially since you don't know anything about what was going on before."

Ashido relaxed, but his hand stayed on the hilt of his sword. "I've been alone here for centuries. I'm quite patient, and not opposed to hearing someone talk for a while."

"Alright..." Ichigo gestured tiredly for Ashido to follow them. "I'll explain on the way back."

x

Gathered in the dark room in the Technological Bureau, Kuchiki Byakuya looked over the team gathered behind him. They had been told privately to leave quickly and in secret, to prevent any sort of rebellion or attempts to stop them. Byakuya did not like the deception and secrecy, but saw the necessity of it and acceded.

Now himself, Captain and Vice-Captain Kurosutchi, Vice-Captain Hisagi, and Vice-Captain Sasikabe were assembled before the Garganta constructed by Captain Kurosutchi to bring them to Hueco Mundo. Captain Kuchiki gestured wordlessly and together they walked silently through the tear toward their mission. To hunt and execute...Kurosaki Ichigo...

* * *

><p><em>AN: Dun dun dun! Nyah, I like my cliffhangers and drama. So sue me. Anyways..._

_Some politics. Ichigo made some new friends. A good fight. And some shits going down! Just wait until next chapter where some real stuff will be happening! Lets just hope it doesn't take nearly so long...like fuuuck! That took a while! Wasn't even as long as the others...But I think I got out everything I wanted for this chapter..._

_Oh and I'll just leave you with this teaser for next chapter...Kougetsu...that is all..._


	5. Confrontation

_A/N: I'M BACK BITCHES. Unedited. __Uncensored. And out of control._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: Confrontation<span>

"So...You mean to say that you had both Shinigami and Hollow powers, and then sacrificed your Shinigami powers in order to defeat a traitorous Captain who wished to usurp the Spirit King. And upon sacrificing these powers you became something new due to your Hollow powers and Human nature and now the Gotei 13 are hunting you for it?"

Ichigo took a moment to ponder Ashido's words as they walked before replying, "...pretty much."

"I see."

"Also, we've made a couple allies since we got here. They're in that hollowed out tree just over this next dune." As he spoke Ichigo gestured to their den that had just come into view as they crested the sand dune.

"Allies? Don't tell me you befriended _Hollows_?" Ashido asked incredulously.

"Well its not like we had much choice, and not all of them are as bad as you think."

"But they-" Before Ashido could finish they reached the den and three figures had emerged, sensing their approach. A tall man in white robes with shaggy brown hair and a jawbone on his throat. A small girl with light green hair under a horned helm, wearing a sort of bikini, vest, and long gloves. And-

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo shouted as he recognized the last figure.

"Yo Kurosaki!" The spiky blue-haired man shouted back and grinned.

Ichigo got in a battle stance and said angrily, "What are you doing here?"

Grimmjow just chuckled and replied, "I felt your reiatsu, and Starrk's. Figured I'd come see whats going on." He grinned widely. "And then Starrk told me about your situation...You really got screwed, didn't you Kurosaki! Those shinigami you fought so hard for just turned and cast you away like nothing! What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know!" Ichigo shouted before calming down a bit. "I just...At this point I'm just trying to survive. So if you got a problem, bring it on. But I don't have time for your shit right now. I got bigger problems."

"Heh, seems like you do and know what? I think I'll help you out with that, if only to free you up to fight me later. And maybe you'll be even stronger at the end of it!"

Ichigo looked at him, surprised. "You'll...help me?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "Sure, why not? Might as well. It'll give me a chance to kick some more Shinigami ass."

With a sigh, Ichigo said, "Not exactly going to turn away help...but I'm keeping my eye on you."

After a moment Starrk spoke up. "We never formally introduced ourselves either. I am Coyote Starrk, ex-first espada. And this is-" He gestured to Lilynette and she cut him off.

"His better half, Lilynette Gingerbuck."

"You probably know by now, but I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Sado Yasutora," Sado grunted.

"Ashido Kano," Ashido grumbled reluctantly.

Grimmjow smirked at Ashido's reluctant response. "Whats your problem Shinigami?"

He glared back. "The idea of having to work with a Hollow like you disgusts me."

The panther Arrancar threw back his head and laughed before casually settling into a battle stance. "Then why don't you come over here and show me how disgusted you are."

"I think I might just do that." As he spoke Ashido reached for his zanpakuto, but stopped when a voice shouted-

"Enough!" Ichigo interrupted his companions' squabbling. We have enough problems without fighting amongst eachother. Save your aggression for the real battle." As he finished speaking he saw Starrk glance to the side and Ichigo's eyes followed to see what caught his comrades eye.

To his surprise he saw a small orange tabby house cat approaching the group. "What th-"

"Hellooo~ Ichigooo~!" Urahara's sing-song tones sprang from the cat's mouth, surprising Ichigo further.

"Urahara-san!?"

"I made a mod-soul with pre-programmed responses!" The cat continued excitedly as it sat down in front of Ichigo.

"What about my family!? Are Yuzu and Karin okay!?" Ichigo asked urgently.

The cat seemed to smile. "Your family is alright. Soifon was sent after us, but she won't find us. Abarai and Kuchiki-san made it back to Sereitei as well and last I heard they're fine. You're human friends likewise have been questioned, but left alone aside from that. The Shinigami know you are in Hueco Mundo and that Yasutora-san is with you however. Though that was rather unavoidable. They likely dispatched a team after you, keep an eye out."

Listening and nodding at the cat's response as it explained the situation, Ichigo grew a little panicked. "Urahara-san...what should I do!?"

Giving him a slightly sad smile, the cat simply said. "For now, hide. Hide until-"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

The voice spoke calmly, but it filled Ichigo with dread all the same. He turned to find the man who matched the voice; Kuchiki Byakuya. Flanking him were Captain and Vice-Captain Kurosutchi. Moments later Vice-Captains Hisagi and Sasakibe also flickered out of shunpo to the sides of Ichigo's group.

Everyone but Starrk immediately drew their weapons and entered a battle pose. As they did this the cat took that moment to flee through a small Garganta that opened before it and quickly closed after it was gone.

"I see you have gathered some allies, but it matters not. If they stand with you, they shall fall with you." Byakuya drew his zanpakuto, quickly followed by Hisagi and Sasakibe doing the same. "This is your last chance. Surrender now and your friends may be spared. Fight and you will all die."

Ichigo hesitated. _This is it King. Live or die. Can your risk your friends lives to save yourself?_ "I..."

"We will fight with you, Ichigo."

Starrk was looking at Ichigo seriously. He hadn't expected such loyalty from the Hollow. Looking at all the others who stood along side him, he saw the determined set to their expressions as they looked back at him. He turned back to Byakuya and spoke evenly, "I will never give up. I will never let myself die. And if others fight with me, that is their decision to make." _That's what I'm talking about! Now lets kick his fancy arrogant ass!_

Immediately after the declaration Starrk lunged at Sasakibe, kicking him back and darting after him, Lilynette following the pair. Grimmjow charged at Captain Kurostuchi, causing him to dodge back a distance away. Nemu ran after the two and Ashido chased her. Sado tried to stay beside Ichigo to defend him but Hisagi jumped forward and slashed at him. He blocked with his quickly summoned Brazo Derecha de Gigante but was still pushed back.

In a matter of seconds they were all separated. Opponents had been chosen, leaving Ichigo and Byakuya alone in the desert landscape, the sounds of clashing swords and blasts ringing in the distance.

"This team had been brought together to take down you alone, but I suppose this is how it is meant to be Ichigo." Byakuya spoke softly, looking down at the zanpakuto in his hand. "Whenever Soul Society clashes with your interests it is always up to me personally, to put you down..."

Growling, Ichigo advanced on him. "That's enough talking Byakuya, lets do this." And with that he charged forward, throwing a punch towards his opponents head. But Byakuya easily sidestepped it and slashed Ichigo's back.

"You really have lost quite a bit of power after your fight with Aizen." Byakuya continued calmly.

Ichigo glared at Bykuya angrily as the cut on his back slowly regenerated. "I'm just getting started!" He shot his hand out to the side and shouted, "Kougetsu!"

Eyebrows raised slightly at the sudden burst of power he felt, Byakuya watched as a long white blade formed in Ichigo's hand, identical to Tensa Zangetsu but for the inverted color.

Grinning, Ichigo raised the blade. "Now I'm ready."

x

The two men stared at eachother seriously from atop the stone pillars they'd found themselves for their battlefield. Lilynette stood beside her partner, looking back and forth as the two stood silently.

"Well? Fight already!" She shouted.

Sasakibe spoke calmly, but his voice resounded enough for them to hear it clearly. "You are the first Espada are you not? The one who fought Captain Kyoraku?"

Starrk replied in a like tone. "That's me. I don't like to brag. I don't even like fighting. I didn't want to then and I don't want to now. Just leave. Or stay here while I go back. Don't get involved or I will have to stop you."

With a sigh, Sasakibe replied. "So like Kyoraku you are. But I can't back down. Yamamoto-Sama sent me to deal with Kurosaki Ichigo and so I will give it my all to complete this mission. If you are truly the first Espada, the one who fought Captain Kyoraku, then I can not afford to hold back. The fact you are still alive says quite a bit about your strength." As he finished he raised his zanpakuto to the sky and said, "Bankai, Koko Gonryo Rikyu."

There was a crackle and a bolt of lightning shot from his sword and into the sky. The clouds churned and turned dark before an answering bolt of lightning shot down toward Sasakibe. It branched just over his head into a dome, before arcing down behind him in a number of separate bolts like the bars of an open birdcage.

Starrk watched this stoically, without moving. "So this is what it means to face a bankai... Kyoraku wouldn't use his."

"Yes, Captain Kyroaku always had trouble with fighting seriously. He is too lax in his duties. But you won't find I have any problem with that. I will carry out Captain Yamamoto's orders. Feel honored. You are the first to see this bankai in hundreds of years." He brought his zanpakuto down in a swipe and a bolt came from the clouds to strike at Starrk.

The smoke cleared to reveal a scorch mark. Starrk stood to the side, with Lilynette under his arm. "I guess I can't mess around here then..." He sighed and set Lilynette down.

When he reached toward her she strightened up, preparing herself for Resurrection. But his handle settled on her shoulder, startling her. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Go hide Lilynette, I don't want you getting hurt." He was still staring straight at Sasakibe.

"What are you talking about!? You want to fight him solo!? I'm not just going to go watch from the sidelines idiot!" She shouted back and drew her sword, turning to stare at Sasakibe sternly. He watched the two calmly, waiting.

"Lilynette. Go." She turned to find Starrk looking down at her now. Seeing the way he looked at her, she sighed.

"Fine...But if you get your ass kicked and I have to save you, no whining about it!" And with that she sheathed her sword again and jumped down from the pillar, going a distance away to watch. Whatever he said, she wasn't about to leave Starrk alone. never again.

Now, with Lilynete seemingly gone, Starrk drew his sword.

"You will not defeat me without your release." Sasakibe said evenly.

"I can try." As Starrk lunged forward Sasakibe brought down his zanpakuto again.

x

Hisagi broke the silence between himself and the gentle giant as they stood a short distance apart int the desert. "Why do you fight for him?"

Looking down at his fist, encased in the armor of his Brazo Derecha de Gigante, Sado replied softly, "Ichigo and I promised to fight for each other. Protect each other. He helped me when I was down, and now it's finally my turn to return the favor."

"That's not Ichi-"

"It **is** Ichigo!"

The big man's shout surprised Hisagi. Despite his size, Sado was known for being so soft spoken. His volume and conviction made Hisagi realize how serious and sure he was.

Calming somewhat, Sado continued in a more even tone. "His Hollow side is influencing him, but he is still Ichigo. And he is getting more control. If anything, he needs me here more than ever. To keep him under control." He turned from Hisagi to look at his left hand. "I suspected before, but my thought was confirmed when I first came here. My power is more like a Hollow's than anything else...Soul Society could have come for me just as easily. And Ichigo would have stood by me without a doubt. How could I do any less?"

Hisagi nodded. "I understand. And to question your resolve any further would be an insult to you and Ichigo. But I have my orders, and for the sake of my division I can not back down either. " He entered a battle stance and held his zanpakuto before him. "I wish you luck."

Preparing for the fight, Sado nodded back. "To you as well."

x

"C'mon, stop running you bastard!" Grimmjow shouted as he chased Mayuri across the desert.

With his manic grin Mayuri replied, "As you wish." and came to a sudden stop.

Seeing his chance, Grimmjow rushed forward before realizing something wasn't right. "Wai-" He jumped back just in time to avoid the explosion erupting from the sands where he had been about to step. "Fuck!"

Mayuri frowned. "Pity. You're smarter than I expected. I suppose I should have been more subtle. No matter, I will just have to incapacitate you another way. I already have plenty of Arrancar subjects, but one more couldn't hurt." He drew his zanpakuto and declared, "Rip, Ashisogi Jizo."

Hearing something behind him, Grimmjow turned to see Nemu rushing toward him with her forearm spinning like a drill. He raised his zanpakuto to defend himself but Ashido flickered between the two and deflected her strike.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings Hollow." Ashido said flatly.

"Hah, I think I was doing just fine, _Shinigami_." Grimmjow gave a wicked smirk and said, "You ready to fight alongside a Hollow?"

Without replying, Ashido jumped forward to slash at Nemu. Grimmjow simply laughed before lunging at Mayuri. The battle had begun.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Heh, been a while. Tell me what you think or if you spotted any errors. Remember, more reviews means more speedy updates._

_Lets just say I don't get many reviews._

_Oh and Kougetsu means White Moon if I recall correctly. And translated correctly._

_Later!_


	6. Merely Hollow

Chapter 6: Merely Hollow

"What is your problem!?" Ichigo shouted as he pounced forward and slashed across Byakuya's chest with Kougetsu. This man. It was always him. Rukia's brother.

Byakuya easily blocked the slash and replied calmly. "I do not know what you are referring to."

"You tried to get your own sister executed!" Ichigo swung heavily at Byakuya neck, but it was deflected. "I thought you were past that shit, but now you're here hunting me down!"Another swing and another block. "It's always you! The Captain Commander's lapdog! You'll do whatever you're told!"

Silently, Byakuya kept fighting. He gave no reply to Ichigo's words aside from getting off the defensive and beginning making attacks of his own. When Ichigo made his next overhand cleave Byakuya stepped into his guard and blocked the attack with his zanpakuto one handed. His other hand pointed at Ichigo's shoulder as he calmly said, "Byakurai." As he finished a small bolt of blue lightning blasted through Ichigo's shoulder, making him reel back.

"Fuck!" Ichigo cried in pain, clutching his bleeding shoulder as it slowly healed. "I beat you before, and I'll do it again!" He raised his sword and shouted "Getsuga..." Byakuya's eyes widened at the red energy gathering at the tip of the blade and Ichigo grinned. "Cero!" Bringing his sword down in a slash launched a red and white blade of energy screaming toward his opponent. But unlike his old Getsugas this blade curled back and spun, making it seem like more of a circle than an arc.

Byakuya brought his zanpakuto up to block it and braced himself as the swirling energy struck his blade. On impact it exploded. When the dust cleared, there was not much visible damage. His hair was no longer perfectly styled and his clothes were scorched and torn in some places, but he seemed mostly unharmed. "You beat me with your bankai and the power of a shinigami. Now you have been reduced to a mere Hollow. You stand no chance." He raised his zanpakuto before him and said, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." His blade shattered into many smaller blades, glinting pink as they flew around him.

"Reduced!?" Growling, Ichigo charged forward and swung at him, but his swing was stopped by a shield of blades that pushed back and cut his arms. "I used to look up to you Shinigami!" Ignoring the cuts, he kept pounding against Byakuya's shield. "But you're all just ignorant!"

He swung hard. "Prejudiced!"

Again. "Arrogant!"

And again. "**Snobs**!" His last swing broke through and cut across Byakuya's shoulder.

The blade petals gathered in a swarm and threw Ichigo back as Byakuya jerked back from the attack.

Ichigo grinned viciously. "I'll show you what a 'mere' Hollow can do."

X

Starrk's lunge was cut short just before he reach Sasakibe as the cage of lightning closed in front of him. He managed to stop just before he ran into it, but he almost didn't dodge the bolt that came down from above. The dust cleared to show him several feet back from where it struck, panting slightly. "You're stronger than you look Vice-Captain-san."

"I will take that as a compliment." Sasakibe replied evenly before swinging his sword, summoning forth another chain of lightning bolts from above.

His form flickering with rapid Sonidos, Starrk moved quickly trying to stay ahead of the lightning strikes. _I have to find someway to get at him._ He flickered to a stop a distance away and raised his hand, pointing with two fingers at Sasakibe. "Cero."

The blue beam screamed across the distance only to be cut off half way by a lightning bolt striking from above.

"Tch." Starrk grimaced slightly and sonidoed away again before the lightning caught him.

"My bankai is not so easily beaten, Arrancar. Its defense is just as good as it's offense." Sasakibe spoke evenly, as he unworriedly looked around to find where Starrk had gone.

Rapidly sonidoing to keep up his speed and not be hit by the lightning, Starrk tried to think up a new plan._ There must be a weakness to that defense. No defense is impenetrable._ He examined it closer as he moved, lightning crashing down around him. _It is a cage. There are gaps between the 'bars'. Not big enough for a person to fit through, but an attack like a cero could go around the bars and take advantage of the gaps. I need to get close enough so the lightning from above can't block it._

Decision made, Starrk went about trying to move closer, barely dodging the lightning as it blasted at his heels. He sonidoed right up in front of the cage and quickly fired a cero from his chest without word or motion. The blast obscured his vision and he didn't see the bolt from above until it was too late.

The lightning crashed down on him, searing his whole body and driving him to the ground.

Before Sasakibe could call down a second bolt on the burnt form of Starrk laid out on the ground, it flickered away. "So you managed to find a second cero quickly enough to lessen the impact of my lightning bolt. Impressive. Your ingenuity has allowed you to live a moment longer."

Panting in pain and exhaustion, Starrk struggled to keep up his high speed. _I can't take another hit like that...But why didn't the cero work? It should have gone through...I'll have to try again..._ Pushing himself, he moved in for a second try.

He sonidoed in and fired a cero before flickering away again to the side, even as the blue energy still left his fingers. This time he tried a weaker one so he could move away quicker. The purpose was to test his defense, not cause damage. Watching carefully, he saw the lightning of the cage had shifted to form a wall, stopping the cero. However this created an opening on the opposite side. _That's _it. But the gap closed too quickly for him to make use of it. As he thought about what to do, he kept us his high speed dodging.

He slowed for a moment as a spike of pain went through his body, and he just barely managed to recover and move before another bolt struck where he'd been standing. _If I use resurrection it will heal my wounds. This battle would be simple in that form, _the thought came unbidden to his mind. But he squashed it down. _No! I won't put Lilynette in danger like that again! I almost lost her last time...I won't be alone again... I can't risk her._ He steeled himself as he thought up a plan. _I'll take care of this myself._

X

"El Directo!" Sado shouted and punched toward Hisagi. The shield on his right arm flared blue energy out the back as a large beam shot from his fist toward the shinigami.

Hisagi jumped over the blast with easy, coming down toward Sado with a slash. Bringing his shield back in front of himself, Sado blocked the attack before throwing Hisagi back.

Landing on his feet Hisagi ran at Sado again thrusting his left hand forward and shouting, "Hado number thirty-one; Shakkaho!" A pillar of red flame shot from his hand toward Sado.

Bracing himself behind his shield, Sado took the attack easily, but the smoke from the blast obscured his vision. Before he could find his opponent again a sword cut threw the cloud from below in an uppercut and slashed across his chest, sending him stumbling. Sado swung at the assailant but they sprang back before he could land the blow. By now the smoke had cleared and he could see again.

Hisagi was coming in from the side for another attack, but Sado blocked it with his shield. He kept up the rapid strikes but Sado kept blocking them, only receiving a scratch here and there.

Eventually Sado managed to deflect one blow and get in a punch with his left arm to Hisagi's ribs and push him back. He immediately followed this up with a shout of "El Directo!" and another blast of energy punched toward the shinigami. As Hisagi dodged it Sado wordlessly fired off several more but Hisagi managed to dodge those as well.

Seeing straight attacks would not work, Hisagi decided to take another route. He shunpoed back into the air above Sado and drew his hand back. Before Sado could react he said, "Bakudo number sixty-two; Hyapporankan." A long purplish rod of energy formed in his hand, which he then threw at Sado. As it drew close it split into many more rods, all landing on and around their target.

Pinned to the ground, Sado struggled against the rods holding him in an attempt to escape before Hisagi could take advantage of his position.

Seeing his opponent trapped, Hisagi did move in. He shot down to finish Sado with a stab down to his chest. But at the last moment the Kido Rods shattered and a hand grabbed the descending blade before throwing Hisagi back against a rock a dozen metres away.

Sado stood and flexed his white gloved left hand he had caught the blade with. "Brazo Izquierda del Diablo." The white armor covered his whole left arm and shoulder, with spikes extending over his torso. A larger spike rose from his left shoulder, and red lines descended it before circling the base and trailing down his arm to his hand. Each of his fingers were also capped in red diamond shapes.

After pulling himself from the rubble of where he'd struck the rock, Hisagi looked over Sado's new arm. "I had not heard your power had evolved."

"My right arm holds the teachings of my Abuelo. My desire to protect." He held his hands before him, looking at each as he spoke of it. "My left holds my desire to fight. To attack. I unlocked it here. Like Ichigo, my powers are more like those of a Hollow. I don't like this power but if it is what it takes to win, to help my friend, I will embrace it."

"Do you fear your power?" Hisagi asked evenly.

Sado looked him in the eye as he replied. "I do."

Nodding solemnly, Hisagi said, "Good." Placing both hands on his zanpakuto and holding it before him, he spoke. "Reap, Kazeshini." A swirl of energy covered his zanpakuto before he pulled his hands to the either side and it settled into the form of two rods. A long chain extending from the hilts connected them to each other and they held a pair of scythe blades pointed in opposite directions on the opposite end. "I don't like my power either, but it is only fair I use it now that you have been forced to use the power you do not like." He shifted into a combat stance and said, "Now come. Lets finish this."

With a nod, Sado entered his battle stance before charging forward again with determination.

X

"What is this bullshit, Shinigami!?" Right before he reached Mayuri, a cloud of red smoke had erupted and Grimmjow lost him. Jumping back out of the smoke he scanned the area for the captain.

Appearing behind him, Kurotsuchi swung Ashisogi Jizo at Grimmjow's back.

But sensing him in time, Grimmjow managed to dodge out of the way.

Mayuri just smiled his wide, toothy grin, "I had not been expecting a fight when I came here. I came along to research Kurosaki Ichigo once the others defeated him. But I suppose I will have some fun with you first."

"As if!" Grimmjow shouted he charged forward and swung at Kurotsuchi but the captain brought his zanpakuto up to block it in time, catching Grimmjow's zanpakuto between the strange golden prongs of his own.

"You are such a violent one. I have a serum to fix that you know. I've been trying to convince one of my colleagues to try it but he refuses." He frowned. "Such an obstinate man."

"Tch." Grimmjow scowled in frustration. "Stop rambling and fight me dammit!" He yanked his sword out of their lock and slashed at Kurotsuchi again.

He blocked that strike fairly easily, but nearly buckled under Grimmjow's continued barrage as the Arrancar determinedly pounded away at him with his blade savagely.

"Come on!" Grimmjow grinned and pulled his sword back in preparation for a powerful strike. "Fight back shinigami! Aren't you supposed to be a captain or something?"

Mayuri's grin widened and he brought his hand up to block the sword, saying "Seki."

As Grimmjow's sword hit the kido orb and recoiled back Kurostuchi brought his zanpakuto down to across Grimmjow's sword arm.

Immediately, his arm went limp and dropped his zanpakuto. There was still feeling in his arm, but he couldn't control it at all. As his sword fell he managed to quickly catch it with his other hand before jumping back. What the hell did you just do!?"

"Heheh, this is the power of Ashisogi Jizou. It severs the neural connections from your brain. In terms a simpleton such as you can understand..." He grinned widely. "It paralyzes you wherever it cuts!"

Grimmjow growled and swung viciously at Kurotsuchi. "You bastard! Fight fair and stop using these bullshit tricks!" He attacks weren't as precise with his left hand but his savagery made up for it in power and unpredictability.

"It surprises me that one such as yourself cares about _fairness_." Despite his calm tone, Mayuri was having some difficulty blocking Grimmjow's savage strikes. Eventually he managed to catch his opponents blade between his zanpakuto's prongs again and he smiled.

However, Grimmjow gave an even more manically sadistic smile as he leaned into their sword lock and a ball of red energy formed where his fist held his zanpakuto.

Mayuri had just enough time to frown before the ball erupted with a scream and shot out, blasting across his entire upper right torso.

After jumping back to observe the result of his attack, Grimmjow's grin faded into an expression of confusion.

The smoke cleared to reveal Kurotsuchi calmly standing there with his entire right shoulder and arm missing. His eyes swivelled independently to examine the damage. He frowned and reached in the front of his robes and pulled out a vial and injector. Grimmjow watched in confusion, as Mayuri proceeded to inject this into the remains of his shoulder. As he tossed the empty injector aside, the flesh around his shoulder bubbled before erupting out into a fresh and fully formed arm.

"What the fuck!? What was that? High speed regeneration?" Grimmjow exclaimed.

Mayuri shrugged and smiled. "Just a serum I developed. I will have you know, it is quite painful though. So I hope you're happy."

"Like hell. I've had it with you." Grimmjow held his zanpakuto under his paralyzed hand, then pulled it back and shouted, "Grind, Pantera!" His body was obscured by an explosion of light blue reiatsu. When it died down he was in an animalistic crouch, with a wide grin. His body was covered in white armor and he had grown a long whip-like tail, likewise clad. There were spikes extending back along his forearms and his hands and feet were clawed. His hair had extended in a long mane, pulling back from his face which had taken on an even sharper appearance. And the best change of all from his perspective; his arm was no longer limp.

"Hmm, this seems troublesome. Perhaps I-" Kurotsuchi's drawl was cut off by the dull pop of a sonido as Grimmjow appeared behind him and slammed his fist into Mayuri's back, launching him toward the ground.

He sped after him only to stop short when he found a small metal dome where Kurotsuchi had landed, just big enough for a person to fit under. "What the hell? Are you fucking hiding?" Grimmjow landed on the dome and slammed his claws into it. They glowed blue as he pushed his reiatsu into them and tried to pull the dome open. The metal screeched as he tore it apart.

The moment an opening was made a massive yellow _thing_ filled the gap. It squeezed and barrelled through the opening, pushing Grimmjow aside. As it poured through the gap there was a hideous wailing and more of it came into view. It was a massive abomination, with a huge head and arms looking like a baby's but for it's reflective eyes ringed in purple. Its body extended out behind it like a centipede and a silver halo seemed to float over it's head.

"The hell is that!?" Grimjmow exclaimed. as he jumped back away from it.

But the moment it saw him, purple smoke poured from it's mouth and it came barrelling after him. Knowing this was bad news if it caught him, he sonidoed away, staying away from the creature and it's smoke.

"I have had to deal with Szayel enough to know not to trust shit like this." He said before adding mentally, _If that smoke touches me I'm probably dead._ As the smoke spread toward him, Grimmjow clawed the air, sending waves of blue energy to blow the smoke back. Every time the creature started drawing close, Grimmjow just sonidoed away. It didn't seem anywhere fast enough to catch him in such an open space as this. "You're going to have to do better than tha- hrrk!"

A sharp pain made him cut off his taunting and look down. A sword protruded from his chest and was dripping his blood.

Mayuri frowned from where he stood atop the metal dome. "That was not really necessary you know...Ashido-san."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Another chapter so quickly? I must be mad!_

_So yeah, tell me what you thought. And I will admit, I am somewhat struggling with some plot ideas. So give some reviews on what you think could or should happen. What you want to see. Etc. It will help speed up the writing process!_

_So if you don't then you have no one to be blame but yourself for the long update times._

_Well and me. Maybe. A little._


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